Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: The Link Between Fates
by GreedyMattymo
Summary: Matoyia Guriddo, also known as Codebuster in Link VRAINS was a simple but known Bounty Hunter, then the Knights of Hanoi attacked, Now he's been tasked in the retrieval of an AI from Playmaker and must help defend the virtual world from the Knights of Hanoi... But what's the worse that can happen?... Allowing for OC's. Pairing: Yusaku/Playmaker x Aoi/Blue Angel?... Maybe...
1. Chapter 1: Call me Codebuster!

**Hey guys, this is GreedyMattymo, and this is my third Fanfiction, but second about Yu-Gi-Oh! This version is for VRAINS, the reason for starting this now, instead of waiting for the anime to end is that I'm really liking the Anime right now… so that's the reason behind that.**

 **This story, like my other Yugioh Fanfiction will also have OC's the info to submit one will be at the bottom of this chapter.**

 **So I'll see you at the bottom…**

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts_ "

Link Markers (will be shortened to LM): ↖ (Top Left), ⬆ (Top), ↗ (Top Right), ⬅ (Left), ➡ (Right), ↙ (Bottom Left), ⬇ (Bottom) and ↘ (Bottom Right). Just doing this to make it easier by shortening them. (this part has been edited)

* * *

 **Den City, (Five years ago)**

Den City, a bustling city that was far more advanced than most other cities, due to it's invention of the Link VRAINS, which stood for Link Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Network System.

The system itself was a far more advanced but similar to the real city, to give the people a feel that it's almost life like to them, but it also had famous landmarks from around the world to make it interesting.

Most Duels now took place within Link VRAINS, which made the system much more popular than what it was. However…

* * *

 **Cyberse World**

This world was within the deep confines of the LINK VRAINS Server, where unique and special being inhabited the world… Such as shame that…

"Be gone Cyberse!" the Avatar of someone declared, an Avatar was what people use when in Link VRAINS, why this one was in this deep was unclear. But they seemed to be up to something.

This Avatar was a man with dark crimson hair with red highlights, there ears were pierced with a stud on each side, connected to a blue diamond and a golden bulleted connected to those. He also wears a visor, which on the forehead, were 4 white circles in a diamond formation that was linked together, each having a red dot in the centre of each of the circles, within the middle of this pattern was a white dot.

His eyes were complete yellow and featureless, his clothing was a white jumpsuit that had a elongated black T going from the bottom to his chest upwards. On either side of his torso were red ovals were overlaying black ovals. He also has a green like belt that was a V-shape.

He had a trench coat that seemed to fit the feel of the rest of his clothing, it's colours were mostly White, Red and light green. This man… Avatar was named Revolver, and currently he was ordering a mechanical dragon to destroy this world, this monster was called Cracking Dragon.

While Cracking Dragon was in the progress of destroying the world, the inhabits of said world were a bit tied up, having been caught by a program that Revolver had set up, just so they didn't get in the way.

Six out of the seven were currently captured, where they were trying to escape their confines.

"The Knights of Hanoi's attacks have made it to the Cyberse…!" the glowing yellow inhabiant cried out, another one, an orange one, who had sizeable bulk to it, was really struggling to get out, "But we're unable to fight while we're sealed!" it said.

"What's that?! A blue, almost female like being said, while confined to it's… her seal. What she was on about was that a black and purple being, similar to them had appeared, the main body was black, while purple circuit like lines covered it's body, it's eyes were glowing yellow.

"Sorry for the wait! But your saviour is now here"! it said excited, then looked to where the others were being held captive, "Oh my, you sure did a great job at getting yourselves trapped." it added with condescension irked in it's voice.

"Being hated truly does have it's advantage's in times like this, yep!" it added, "And seeing that no one else can do it, I'll just save you all!" it said, then flew off. "Don't let him escape!" Revolver ordered the mechanical dragon, clearly the being did have a gender.

Cracking Dragon then gave chase after it's small quarry, "What are you going to do?" Blue asked, "You'll see, here we go!" Purple said, breaking though the sky, and kept going, just until he was in place.

As the sky seemed to repair itself, he laughed, and then seemed to execute something, whatever he did was starting the make the Cyberse World to vanish.

"What!? He's severing the connection?!" Revolver said shocked at what the being was doing. "It can't be… He's planning to hide this place from the outside world?!" the red being exclaimed, "But if he does that, he won't be able to return!" the green one said.

"It's better than letting the Knights of Hanoi destroy this place instead!" a silvery grey one said, making the others think about this.

While this happened, the vanishing or hiding progress was finally finished, all that remained was a piece of data, that then flew into the purple being's right eye and then absorbed. "Piece of cake!" he said, rubbing his no existence nose.

A roar suddenly distracted him from he earl celebration, the roar coming from Cracking Dragon… who was right behind him, he panicked, and tried to fly away, but the dragon was right on him, opened it jaw, where the being was now in.

He screamed as the dragon snapped it mouth shut, however, his eye was all that escape, in pain, he fled.

* * *

 **The Knights of Hanoi's base**

Upon returning back to their base was Revolver, clearly frustrated that his attack had failed, "Search for his remains!" he quickly ordered, hoping to catch the being… or what was left of said being.

"The only being who now knows the location of the Cyberse World it that Ignis!" he said, dubbing the beings Ignis. "We must end their threat..." he muttered…

* * *

 **The present, Link VRAINS, (6:13 AM)**

As mentioned before, Link VRAINS was designed to look just like Den City, to give it the feel that it was a whole new, but similar world. There were many things to explore within this virtual world, again, it was mostly used as a Duelling Grounds for Duelist, Duelling itself and changed and a new profession was started, Charisma Duelist.

Whose Duels are broad casted to the outside world, they were basically idols of said world, of course other professions still exist and have evolved to fit into this world…

Speaking of other professions…

"Hurry up!" a data thief told his comrades, the group were currently hiding out back of a digital bank, trying to steal bank accounts, to of course steal the money from. "We're going as fast as we can! Don't rush us, or we'll make a mistake." one of them whispered back.

"Just keep an eye out for the drones… not like they could stop us." the other said, confident in their skills in hacking. This went on for a few moments, when… "I'm in!" they said, having finally broken through the firewalls for the virtual bank… however none of them realised they had sent something else off, something that wasn't installed by the bank programmers…

* * *

 **Den City, Café Haru, third story**

 ***Beep! Beep!*** An alarm went off in someone bedroom "Damn, just a few more minutes..." a groggy voice muttered, having just been roused from his slumber, "What is it?" he asked no one in particular, getting up he went over to his computer, the origins of the noise. After going through his computer, he found out why it was going off.

"Finally, didn't know how long it would take those knuckle heads to strike again..." he said, typing some commands into his computer, with it then executing said commands, "Right, let's get this over with..." he said, getting up going back to his bed, to his night stand, where his Duel Disk was located.

His Duel Disk was the newest and latest version released by SOL Technologies… Of course the young man had modified it slightly, It was a dark chrome in the middle, with light grey on either side of it, in the centre was a small green hexagonal screen plate. Normally this version came with a built in AI system that helped their Duelist in their Duels… and sometimes emotion support. But the man had removed said AI, not really a fan of having a computer help him. That and the security for the device was now a lot more stronger.

He then slipped it over his left wrist, " ***Yawn*** Into the VRAINS!" he said, and with these words, a sphere of light with data floating around it enveloped him.

* * *

 **Link VRAINS… (5 minutes later)**

Back with the data thieves. "And… Done! We've got the most important banking details for the richest accounts now!" the one doing the hacking said grinning, thinking what he could do with his split, when he transferred the money through several dummy accounts just so they couldn't trace it back to them.

"Right let's get the hell out of her-" the one guarding said, walking but suddenly hit something solid, "Ouch! What the hell was that?!" they exclaimed, holding their virtual nose in pain, the Avatar's in Link VRAINS can still experience pain, a bit numbed down, but it can still hurt.

The other that was helping the hacker of the group was accessing some data, "We're trapped!?" they shouted, shocking his two comrades, "We triggered something when we breached the firewalls." they said.

"And the thing is, the program wasn't made or installed by the company." he said, "But who mad-" the guard went to say, but… "About time you lot showed your ugly virtual faces!" a voice declared from above, shocking and making the thiefs go quiet. "It can't be..." one muttered.

They slowly looked up to spot a figure standing at the end of rooftop, the figure in question was a man of 5'11, wearing a dark blue and grey bodysuit, with dark green lines running across it, on his forearms, feet to knees, hips, and upper chest was slightly thick black high tech like body armour, like that of a SWAT team member. One of these arms housed his Duel Disk, which housed a hexagonal panel. On his back was some sort of collapsible drone.

His skin was fair in colour, but most of his face was covered by a helmet, the helmet was made from the same material as the armour, on each earpiece was a circular pad, that the person used for communications. His eyes were covered by a visor connected to said helmet, but his eyes were a dark oranage. At the top of the helmet were two slits going from the front to were the head connected the neck, this of course let the man's hair sprout out in two mowhawks that were segmented, they were white starting at the back changing to a silvery grey.

"It's Codebuster!" they exclaimed at the same time, Codebuster as the man was now introduced as was a known Cyber Bounty Hunter working for SOL Technologies, independently though, he was also known as the 4th ranking Charisma Duelist, though he hardly Duels in public due to his line of work, he of course does it for the fun.

"Good thing you know who's about to kick your asses and send you to SOL Technologies." Codebuster said, "What did you do? And how did you know where we were?" the guard of the group asked.

"Simple, you sent off my program, I knew you'd eventually get greedy again, so I sent a trap up for when you did strike again." he answered, "I've caught you about what, 3 times doing the same thing before." he added He then jumped down to their level.

"And I know it's you lot, you may have made new Avatars, but your patterns are the same, from our last encounters you've gone for the same thing everytime, just with different banks." he added.

"Why can't we log out?" the hacker of the group asked, as he had tried to log out multiple time, but gave up, "This Security Field I designed is to keep anyone from logging out for about 10 hours." Codebuster explained, shocking them.

"But if you can beat me in a Duel, then it will disperse, that or you could try and hack your way out, but that just take too long, so..." he added, lifting his Duel Disk up.

"Fine, I'll Duel, and when I win, I'm going to gloat to the whole world that I beat you!" the guard said, as he too readied his Duel Disk, his was the version before the new one.

With both opponents getting ready, a layout for the Duel appear, this layout was for a Master Duel, however with recent improvement in Dueling, the Layout was also changed, the most notice difference were the two new zones called Extra Monster Zones.

Any player can use any unoccupied Extra Monster Zone to Special Summon one monster from the Extra Deck, your opponent will take the one that you didn't use, and you can only control that monster in that zone and no more Extra Deck Monster in the now called Main Monster Zones… but there is way around this.

"DUEL!" both opponents shouted, drawing five cards each.

Guard's LP's: **4000**

Codebuster's LP's: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"You two try and de-activate the field, I'll try and finish this quickly!" the guard said, "I'll take the first turn!" he said, not drawing a card, due to the rules.

"I'll start by Normal Summoning Black Veloci!" he said, placing the card onto the blade his Duel Disk created. This caused a dark velociraptor to appear in the middle Main Monster Zone of his side of the field.

 **Black Veloci: EARTH, Level: 4 [Dinosaur/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 300

"And then I activate the Spell, Double Summon! This let's me Normal Summon again, and now I Tribute my monster to Tribute Summon Super-Ancient Dinobeast!" he said, and the Black Veloci burst into particles, and taking its place was an even larger Dinosaur, it was made out of a strange metal.

 **Super-Ancient Dinobeast: EARTH, Level: 8 [Dinosaur/Effect] ATK/2700 DEF/** 1400

"And then I place a card face-down and end my turn!" he said as a card appeared then faded. "Let's see what the famous Codebuster can do." he said, smirking, now that he had a strong monster on his field. "How you doing guys?" he asked, while said guys were typing away at trying to de-activate the program.

Guard's hand x 2

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I Draw!" Codebuster drew his card when the ring on his Duel Disk appeared and he took it, "Since only you control a monster, I can Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my Hand!" he said, normally with the new Duel Disk, the cards would float in front of him, but he modified the Duel Disk to let him hold his cards, that and he created a blade for his cards as well. Appearing on his field in the middle Main Monster Zone was a silver mechanical serpent with a metallic roar.

 **Cyber Dragon: LIGHT, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 1600

"Then I activate the Spell, Identity Match! When I control a monster Summoned from my Hand and have another monster with the same name in my Hand, I can Special Summon the one in my hand!" he said as a second Cyber Dragon appeared to the Main Monster Zone to the left of the first.

"And now I Normal Summon Proto-Cyber Dragon!" he said as a smaller mechanical serpent appeared to the right of the first.

 **Proto-Cyber Dragon: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1100 DEF/** 600

"I now Overlay my 2 Level 5 Cyber Dragons!" he declared as his Duel Disk sparked with energy, unleashing it into the air, and causing a blue data cross to appear, in between the crosses intersection were small sideways squared, connected to them were red glowing circles. Trails of data were beaming upwards. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" the two Cyber Dragons turned into data, and were absorbed into two of the circles, these then created two red beams to created a rift.

"Xyz Summon! Come forth Rank 5! Cyber Dragon Nova!" he shouted, with the card appearing from his Extra Deck part of the ring, him grabbing it, and placing it over the card's material. Which were moved to the Extra Monster Zone to his right. This caused a larger mechanical dragon with sharp wings and a red core with energy to disperse around its body to appear with a screech while two Overlay Units orbiting behind its back, one going clockwise, the other anti-clockwise.

 **Cyber Dragon Nova: LIGHT, Rank: 5 [Machine/Xyz/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 1600 **, OLUs: 2**

"Seriously? You're using that outdated Method? Lame!" the guard with a laugh, while Codebuster just stayed silent, "You done, cause I'm not! I activate Nova's effect!" Codebuster shouted, "By using 1 Overlay..." he said as one of the units was absorbed into Nova red energy core. Nova's OLUs: **2 – 1 = 1**.

"I can Special Summon 1 Cyber Dragon from my Graveyard! I Summon the one I just detached from Nova!" he said, as one of the Cyber Dragons appeared again, right under the Zone Nova was in.

"Battle! Nova attack his Dinobeast!" he ordered, with Nova roaring, opening it mouth, and started to charge up a beam of red energy. "And now I activate Nova's other effect! Once per turn, I can banish a face-up Cyber Dragon on my field or 1 that is my hand..." he said as the Proto-Cyber Dragon whose effect treated as a Cyber Dragon while on the field vanished.

"Nova gains 2100 ATK until the of the turn!" he explained shocking the guard, Nova's ATK: **2100 + 2100 = 4200**.

"It's doubled it ATK!" the Guard yelled, Nova then released its beam vaporising the Dinobeast. Guard's LP's: **4000 – 1500 = 2500**."That will do Nova, I place a card face-down and end my turn!" he said as a single card appeared on his field then faded.

"With it ending Nova's ATK returns to normal." he added as Nova powered down to normal. **4200 = 2100** (Nova)

Codebuster's hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"Fine then, I draw!" the guard yelled out, "I discard 1 card in my Hand to activate the Continious Trap, Fossil Excavation!" he sent the Spell, Big Evolution Pill to the Graveyard, "This Trap allows me to Special Summon 1 Dinosaur from my Graveyard with it's effects negated. I Summon Back Dinobeast!" he said as the monster appeared once again.

"Then I Normal Summon Rescue Rabbit!" he said as a small rabbit wearing rescue equipment appeared.

 **Rescue Rabbit: EARTH, Level: 4 [Beast/Effect] ATK/300 DEF/** 100

"And then I banish it to activate it's effect!" he said as the rabbit started to borrow itself into the ground. "By banishing that monster, I can now Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from my Deck!" he said as two cards ejected themselves from his Duel Disk.

"I Summon two Sabersaurus!" he said as he placed the cards into his blade, with a red Triceratops and a red hippopotamus dinosaur like monster appearing on either side of Super-Ancient Dinobeast.

 **Sabersaurus: EARTH, Level: 4 [Dinosaur/Normal] ATK/1900 DEF/** 500 **(x2)**

"Now to show you what a true summon looks like! Appear! The Circuit leading to the primal past!" he declared throwing his arm into the arm, where sparks of energy appeared, shot into the air, where a portal appeared, around this portal were eight triangle marker points all pointing out a different direction.

"Arrowheads confirmed. The Summoning conditions are 3 Dinosaur Type monsters! I set Super-Ancient Dinobeast, and two Sabersaurus in the Link Markers!" he shouted as the monsters in question turned into twisted that matched their colours, they soared into the air, where they then each hit one marker each, which hit the Bottom Left, Bottom and Bottom Right.

"Circuit Combine!" he said as the hit markers glowed red, with this making the portal brighter, "Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Primal Rage Rex!"

Appearing from a constuction of red energy which burst of the monster, was a large grey Tyrannosaurus Rex, but all over it's body was circuitry, it legs were robotic, and it's arms were also mechanical and longer than what they should be. It was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to the Guard's Right, just opposite of Nova Dragon.

 **Primal Rage Rex: EARTH [Dinosaur/Link/Effect] ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬇↘

This was a Link Monster, designed to make use of the new Master Duel Layout, as the Link Markers of the Link Monster point to different Zones, this one points to three Main Monster Zones. The benefit that Link Monsters offer is that they can allow for more than one monster Summoned from the Extra Deck to be summoned, but only to a zone that a Link Monster points to.

Another thing that makes Link Monster different, is that they don't have a Level, or even a Rank to be exact, what they have is a Link Rating, which determines how many monsters are needed to summon one, this Link Rating replaces the DEF of monster, so they are also unaffected by cards that affect DEF, they themselves cannot be placed in face-down or face-up Defense, and must always be in face-up Attack position.

"Since Super-Ancient Dinobeast lefted the field as summoned by Fossil Excavation, it is destroyed." he said as the Trap destroyed itself.

"I now activate the Spell, Fossil Dig! I can add 1 Level 6 or lower Dinosaur monster from my Deck to my Hand! I'll add Frostosaurus!" he said adding the card in question to his hand. "And Rage Rex's effect now activates!" he said, as the middle Bottom Link Marker of the Link Monster glowed.

"Once per turn, I can Normal Summon a Level 7 or lower Dinosaur monster without tributes in addition to my actual Normal Summon, but it must be to a Main Monster Zone that Rage Rex points to." he explained.

"I Normal Summon Frostosaurus!" he said as appearing in the Zone directly under Rage Rex was a Dinosaur, completely made out of ice.

 **Frostosaurus: WATER, Level: 6 [Dinosaur/Normal] ATK/2600 DEF/** 1700

"I activate the Trap, Attack Reflector Unit!" Codebuster said, activating his face-down, "I tribute Cyber Dragon..." he said, with Cyber Dragon bursting into particles, "And now I can Special Summon a Cyber Barrier Dragon from my Hand or Deck! I choose my Deck and Summon it in DEF!" he said as the card ejected itself from his Deck, he took it, and placed it in the Zone to the left, of the Zone right under Nova.

Appearing on the field, was a mechanical silver serpent, similar to Cyber Dragon, but around its neck was a device.

 **Cyber Barrier Dragon, LIGHT, Level: 6 [Machine/Effect] ATK/** 800 **DEF/2800**

The Guard frowned at this, "It doesn't matter as I wasn't going to attack that Cyber Dragon. Before I attack, I tribute Frostosaurus linked to Rage Rex, to activate it's effect!" he said, as the Ice made dinosaur burst into particle.

"Now Rage Rex gains 200 ATK times the Level of the tributed monster until the end of the turn!" he said, Primal Rage Rex's ATK: **2600 + 1200 = 3800**.

"Battle! Primal Rage Rex attack Cyber Dragon Nova! Primal Extinction!" he ordered, with Rage Rex opening its jaw, and releasing a stream of red hot fire, which hit and melted Nova. Codebuster's LP's: **4000 – 1700 = 2300**.

"Now look whose losing. HA!" he laughed, then turned to his comrade, "How's it going?" he asked them, "Not good..." the hacker said, making the Guard sigh "Fine, I guess I'll just have to beat you then. I end my turn!" he said, "With it ending Rage Rex's ATK returns to normal." **3800 = 2600**. (Primal Rage Rex)

Guard's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card, "I activate the effect of Identity Match from the Graveyard!" he said as the card appeared on the field, "When this card is in the graveyard and there are two monsters with the same name in there as well, I can banish both of them and this card to Special Summon 2 monsters with the same name from my Deck!" he said.

"I banish Identity Match and 2 Cyber Dragons..." he said as the cards were banished, "And Special Summon 2 Proto-Cyber Dragons from my Deck!" he said, as two Proto-Cyber Dragons appeared, each one on either side of Barrier Dragon.

"Now its my time! Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowhead confirmed. The summoning conditions are two Machine Type monster, with one of them being Cyber Dragon!" he said.

"Because Proto-Cyber Dragon's effect treats it as a Cyber Dragon this works. I now set the two Proto-Cyber Dragons in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters turned into silver and grey twisters, with them hitting the Left and middle Bottom Link Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 2! Cyber Dragon Zeiger!" he said, and appearing from the portal was a new Cyber Dragon, this one was decked out with tech. Along its body was blue circuit like energy. It appeared in the Zone that Nova was in before.

 **Cyber Dragon Zeiger: LIGHT, [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2100 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"And now I activate Monster Reborn! I Summon back Nova!" he said as Nova appeared right in the Zone that Zeiger pointed to.

"And now I activate an effect from my Extra Deck!" he said shocking the guard and his two comrades." Y-Your Extra Deck!?" the guard got out.

"Correct! Said effect allows me to Overlay Nova into the Overlay Network!" Codebuster said as Nova shot into the air, turning into the Overlay Network that appeared. "Xyz Summon! Appear Rank 6! Cyber Dragon Infinity!" he said, the Xyz Card ejected itself from the ring, he grabbed it and placed it in the Zone that Nova was in, which happened to be the Zone that Zeiger pointed to.

This Cyber Dragon was similar to Nova, but was different, it was more longer, and appeared to be more menacing.

 **Cyber Dragon Infinity: LIGHT, Rank: 6 [Machine/Xyz/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 1600 **, OLUs: 1**

"Infinity gains 200 ATK for every Overlay Unit attached to it." he said, Infinity's ATK: **2100 + 200 = 2300**.

"Time to end this!" he said, "I switch Barrier Dragon into Attack position!" he said, "And now I activate Infinity's other effect! I target 1 monster in face-up Attack, and attach it to Infinity as an Overlay Unit!" he said, shocking the Guard.

"That's right, I target your Link Monster, who must always be in face-up Attack..." he said smirking, one of the major weakness of Link Monsters was that they could only be in one position, ATK. Rage Rex then collapsed in on itself, turning into a yellow Overlay Unit, that then flew and orbited around Infinity, whose ATK increased. **2300 + 200 = 2500**. (Infinity)

"Battle! Barrier Dragon attack him directly!" he ordered, the device around the mechanical dragons neck hummed with energy, with the dragon shooting a funnel of energy at the Guard, who was pushed back from the attack. **2500 – 800 = 1700**. (Guard)

"Your turn Infinity!" he said as Infinity charged up energy in its mouth, then released it as a torrent of light, knocking the Guard over, who screamed in pain. **1700 – 2500 = 0**. (Guard)

Codebuster: **WINS**

Guard: **LOSE**

"Crap!" the two trying to hack swore, as their line of defence had fallen, "That was a waste of time..." Codebuster said, lifting his none Duel Disk arm out, which housed a hole, that then shoot out three beams, each hitting their marks, the thiefs.

The beams then forms bands around their arms trapping them, shocked they of course tried to break free, but then all three bands linked together and pulled them altogether where they further struggled. While this happened, the security field dematerialised.

Codebuster sighed, and called for someone, "Hey SOL Technologies! I caught the bank theifs..." he said, " _Thank you for calling Codebuster. Drones will arrive to your location soon._ " an operator said back to him.

He waited for about five minutes, which during that time, the thiefs tried to scuffle away, but of course were stopped by him, the drones had arrived, they confiscated the data the thiefs stole along with the other accounts that the thieves stole before, and told Codebuster that they would return them to the correct owners, and that he'd receive his payment soon.

"Good, and make sure they stay out of Link VRAINS..." Codebuster said, about to log out, "I'm tired of always dealing with those idiots..." he muttered to himself as he fully logged out.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Within Link VRAINS somewhere else, on top of the tall stone tower, where stone gargoyles rested, stood two figures, the two were in a Duel.

One was a Knight of Hanoi, dressed a white jumpsuit, with a white trench coat, lined with green all over, and a grey metallic mask with one red lens with yellow marking over it.

The other being was wearing a black and green bodysuit, with a golden stripe going across his body, and a grey belt at his waist. His hair was spiked up and was yellow and red, with pink accents in it. He was wearing the white, red and blue Duel Disk, the Deck Insert version before the new one.

Each of them controlled a monster, on the Knights side was a worm like creature, that was dark grey with some dark gold here and there, it had two floating pieces close to it, and was covered with green energy across its body. This monster was called Hack Worm.

The other monster was a yellow, darkish red brown armoured man with the appearance like that of a lion. It was also wearing a red cape, with orange glowing eyes fixed into the lion like helmet, and also wore gauntlets that had glowing blue energy in the shape of a blade. This one was called Linkslayer.

"Linkslayer, attack his Hack Worm! The one controlling Linkslayer ordered, with the monster charging forward bringing it arm up, "Shooting Star Break!" He said as Linkslayer brought his energy blade down in Hack Worms skull, which wriggled in pain as it was then exploded, taking the rest of the Knights Life Points.

"Why you-!" the Knight said, bracing himself against the explosion, "Why are you getting in the way of Hanoi!?" he demanded from his opponent, "Just who are you!?" he asked, meanwhile none of them notice that the right eye of one of the gargoyles blinked.

"Knight of Hanoi!" the figure said, "Wherever you choose to run rampant, I will appear!" he added, "My name is..." he paused, "Playmaker!" he said, introducing himself as Playmaker.

* * *

 **Café Haru, third story (6:27 AM)**

Back in the real world, with the sphere of data disappearing, sitting on his bed was a male of 19, his skin was fair, eyes were dark blue, and his hair was spiked and pale blonde, at the ends of some of the spike tips was a light green. In his right ear, he had 3 small piercings.

His clothing, having woken up was a set of a pale blue long Pyjama shirt with the sleeves being black, his bottoms were baggy and grey. This young man was Matoyia Guriddo, the alter ego to Codebuster.

" ***yawn*** Not much point in going back to sleep..." he said annoyed, looking at his alarm, "Might as well go make breakfast." he said, getting up and making his way to the kitchen.

10 minutes later, in which he had made himself some pancakes, with a glass of Orange Juice to go with it, another resident of the building was waking up.

"Matoyia? What are you doing up early?" a woman asked him, suppressing a yawn. This woman was Asuka Haru, the owner of Café Haru, she was 23, standing slightly taller than Matoyia, her hair was a garnet colour put into a loose ponytail that hung over her right shoulder, there was also bits of dark and light blue here and there in it. Her eyes were orange, she also wore glasses. As she had just woken up, due to Matoyia. She was wearing a tight pink non sleeve Pyjama shirt, with one of the strands falling over her shoulder, and also wearing a small set of green shorts.

"Those thugs for that contract finally showed up again..." he said after swallowing some pancake, "Oh thank god… You were going a bit crazy around here, having to wait for that program of yours to go off." she said making her way over to the stove to make herself and her little brother some breakfast.

"Hey! You know I'm not one for patiences, that's your thing, for me, I like things done fast and quick." he retorted, "Just like your last relationship with that girl!" she countered, making him blush and stumble at that, he tried to think of a comeback, but couldn't, "Shut up..." he muttered while she laughed.

"When's Aito getting up? He has school..." he said, talking about her little brother, "In about five minutes..." she said quietly. "Did he have that nightmare again" he asked quietly, knowing what the boy had gone through back them.

"No..." she said quietly relieved at that, but she then clenched her hand tightly, "I still can't get over it… Why did they take him away from me back then..." she said frustrated. "It's not fair to him… He was such a sweet boy… he still is… but he's just not the same anymore." she finished.

"I know how you feel… Well, not exactly how you feel, but you two are my best friends..." Matoyia said staring at his plate, "I hate seeing him so hurt, I wish I could've seen him before the incident that you talked about, to see what he was like before." he added.

"But I'm going to help him as much as I can..." he said, looking directly at her, she to looked back at him, and smiled, "I know you want to help, that's why I gave up on not letting you pay for therapy for hi-" she said, but then the door opened, making them go quiet.

"Morning..." a quiet voice said slowly from behind to door, they then slowly walked into the kitchen, the voice belonged to a young man of 16, This was Aito Haru, Asuka's little brother.

He was smaller that Matoyia, standing at 5'7, his build was very lanky, he skin was pale, his hair was a pale garnet like his sisters, mixed in was some light blue, the length of his hair reached slightly past his chin. His eyes were the same as his sisters, but lighter slightly but also a bit dull. And like the other two residents of the building, he had just woken up, so he was in his Pyjamas, which was an orange shirt, and black bottoms with a white line going down them.

"Morning bud!" Matoyia quickly said, hoping he hadn't heard them talking about the past. "Hey Matoyia..." Aito said with a weak smile, Aito had always seen Matoyia as an older brother, and the other way for Matoyia who saw Aito as a little brother.

"We didn't disturb you did we?" Asuka asked Aito, as she put down a plate of pancakes for him, he usually stays in his room for a few more minutes before getting out here. "Yeah… Just wondering what Matoyia was doing up at this hour..." he weakly said sitting down.

"Had to take down those thugs for that contact..." Matoyia answered, Aito also knew about him being Codebuster, mainly because Aito picked out his name for him, which he loved by the way.

"Really? Did you Duel?" Aito asked smiling slightly, his eyes also seemed to light up a bit, "Yep! And of course your truly won!" he said smugly, "Could you tell me how it played out?..." the young man asked the older.

Matoyia then went into detail about his Duel with the Guard, with Aito listening to every word, this went on for about 20 minutes, as Matoyia lengthened it for Aito. "Alright you two, that's enough. Aito you need to get ready for school!" Asuka said. Aito having finished his pancakes a bit before, nodded and proceeded to make his way back to his room to change.

"He seems to always love hearing about my Duels..." Matoyia said when Aito was back in his room, "True, but he also loves watching the live Duels taking place in Link VRAINS." she said back, smiling, thinking back to when the two would watch Codebuster Duel someone, she would always look to see that Aito was sporting a genuine smile on his face, something she hardly sees him do nowadays.

"So what are your plans for today?" she asked, "Help you with the Café for bit, I've fulfilled my contract, so I'll wait for the next one." he said, drinking the last of his OJ. "Also some of my friends are coming today, so I'll hang out with them for a bit after I help." he added, taking his utensils to the sink, to help her wash up.

* * *

 **Den City High School (10:14 AM)**

A little while later, At Den School High School, which was like that of a University, in classroom 1-B, was Aito in his School Uniform, which was a slated coloured jacket with a light blue trim over a white dress shirt. He also had on black trousers, and unlike the other boys who wear the same uniform, he wore the his dress shirt done up and buttoned.

The first period which was advanced calculus had just finished, so the students were putting their Electronic Notepads, which they used for the lessons, back in their bags, Aito was one of the last to leave, another was Naoki Shima, who was slightly overweight, had green hair, and had the biggest smile on his face.

Just as Aito lefted the room, Naoki noticed that someone was just waking up, this person was a boy of 16, his eyes were green, his hair was dark blue, with a patch of light blue going across as a bang, it also had pink accents mixed in. He too was wearing the same school uniform.

This young was Yusaku Fujiku, freshman in the school, "Woah! You're awake!?" Naoki yelled, "Say your Fujiku right?" he asked, "Listen, class ended a while ago..." he added.

Yusaku slowly got up and looked at Naoki, "Who are you again?" he asked, shocking Naoki, "Oh come on! School started a month ago you know!" he said to Fujiku, "But you still haven't learned the names of your classmates?!" he added.

"So that must mean you don't have that many friends… right?" he asked, "Thanks for noticing." Yusaku finally said something, and sitting up properly, "My name is Naoki Shima!" Naoki said with a weird laugh.

"Say, do you have anything to say about this?" he said, lifting his left arm up, to display his new Duel Disk, that was blue, "Not really..." Yusaku said, shocking Naoki, "How about this then!" he shouted, shoving the Duel Disk right near Yusaku.

"Oh that. The new Duel Disk that SOL Technologies developed right?" Yusaku asked, making Naoki smile, "Oh, so you _did_ notice!" he said, Yusaku then decided to get up and pack up his stuff, but Naoki noticed something.

What he noticed was Yusaku's Duel Disk, which was the version before the new one, it was mainly white, with red at the top, and a blue screen like device at the side. "Your Duel Disk is an older version that needs cards, huh?" Naoki asked, feeling a bit superior to Yusaku about the difference in the two Duel Disk.

He then decided to further show off his 'superiority' to Yusaku, "Mine comes with an AI installed that helps me during Duels, as well as emotional support!" he said, "Good day to you!" his Duel Disk spoke to Yusaku.

"Hey there..." Yusaku said back, not interested anymore… well he wasn't really interested before, he just wanted to get back to- "This AI can directly connect to SOL Technology's Cloud and allows you to use cards in data format!" Noaki said, "It can even access the Virtual Reality Network Space, LINK VRAINS!" he added.

"So then have you gone to Link VRAINS?" Yusaku asked, "No you Idiot!" Noaki got out, shocked that Yusaku would dare say such a thing. "Idiot" is a forbidden word!" Naoki's Duel Disk said to him.

"Link VRAINS is a sacred place, where only the greatest of veteran Duelist gather!" he said, "There are Charisma Duelist there too!..." he added, "It's not the easiest place to just walk into as you think it is!" he further added.

"True..." Yusaku said, "But if you go, you might be able to run into a Charisma Duelist like Codebuster, Blue Angel, Go Onizuka… or _the_ Playmaker!" Naoki said, being a huge fan of both the first three and the rumored Playmaker.

"Playmaker?" Yusaku asked, "The most popular Duelist in Link VRAINS right now!" Naoki explained, "He's also been taking out the evil hacker group known as the Knights of Hanoi, single handedly!" he added.

"And Codebuster, while the number four Charisma Duelist, is also known for being a bounty hunter, taking out many other criminals with Link VRAINS!" he added, "Do you have footage of Playmaker? Or Codebuster?" Yusaku asked.

"On Codebuster, Yes! On Playmaker, No! but why would I? He's cool, but because he's so unknown!" Noaki said, who then raised his arms in the air, "I want to become a Duelist of Justice like Codebuster or Playmaker someday!" he declared.

"Good luck with that!" Yusaku said having picked up his stuff and was now leaving, "Hey wait!" Naoki said, "Want me to teach you how to Duel?" he asked, "No thanks!" Yusaku replied, "I've analysed you, and found three reasons on why you don't seem very strong." he added, while holding up three fingers.

"One: You've bragged about your Duel Disk, but don't seem concerned with what cards you have in your Deck." he said, shocking Shima.

"Two: You haven't gone to Link VRAINS yet, most likely due to a lack of confidence in your own skills." he added, further shocking him.

"And three: How can you call yourself a Duelist, if you're judging someone's skill, based solely on their appearances?" he asked, again shocking him once again, "However, you've got three good points going for you." he said.

"One: Only a person, who talks this much about his Duel Disk or Deck, must really love the game itself." he said, but Naoki was still in shock about what he said before.

"Two: By having the latest Duel Disk, it shows that you keep track of current events." he added.

"And three: You went out of your way and time, to talk to an isolated and possibly lonely person like my self. So you can't be a bad guy!" he finished, but Naoki was now frustrated, "What the hell man! Why are you criticizing me about there three things or whatnot!?" he asked. "You know what? Screw you! Go Duel by yourself!" he said, then took off, leaving Yusaku to himself.

"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that… Wasn't there three specific rules about the Main Monster Zone?..." he said to himself, "Oh well..." he said then took off, to go to break.

* * *

 **Café Haru, first story (13:32 PM)**

The first story of the building was of course the built in small restaurant, it had a nice feel to it, the business was doing quiet well, seeing that with each purchase, you'd get the password to the restaurant's router, thus getting free Wi-Fi for a while, making it an Internet Cafe. Of course this password was changed everyday, just so people couldn't cheat out on paying for a meal.

At one table was Matoyia, with some of his friends, having changed out of his pyjamas, he now wore a black T-Shirt, with an image of a pixelated green alien, from the classic game of Space Invaders, over this was a grey leather jacket hoodie, with the inside lined with some kind of fur. His bottom set was a pair of beige jeans, held up by a brass coloured metal clip belt. In one of his pockets was a silver chain, his shoes was a set of red sneakers.

There was Sora Goto, 19 and male, he was the muscle of the group (along with some brains) he towered over the others, at about 6'3, his skin was tanned, his hair was brown with a slight afro. He wore a black and gold shirt that read 'Go Onisuka' with an image of a monster called 'Gouki the Great Ogre' in front of the name, clearly a fan of this person. He also wore denim black jeans. He too had the latest Duel Disk, it was brown in colour.

There was also Hiroshi Akiyama, the quiet one of the group, next to Sora, he was thin and lanky compared to him, his skin was fair, his hair was brown with gold mixed in, he wore a red collar shirt, with dark blue khaki shorts with tie up green sneakers. His Duel Disk was a version that was used long ago, from somewhere called Maiami City, but the Duel Disk itself had been modified to be used in the current generation.

And then there was Yui Funai, the girl of the group, as well as the funny one, her skin was also fair, and her hair shoulder length and light blue with grey accents. She wore a white vest with purple heart on it, wore a light blue jean jacket over that, the bottom half was a pleated skirt, and she wore black leggings, as well as sandal like shoes. she also had the latest Duel Disk, that was pink and purple.

"What do you call fake spaghetti?" Yui asked them, "An Im-pasta!" she said, this made Matoyia and Sora laugh, while Hiroshi just chuckled slowly. " ***Sigh*** So you guys hear about this morning?" Sora asked, "Yeah, Codebuster took down those clowns again!" Yui said exictedly, having been a fan of Codebuster's for a while.

"What I'd give to be a Charisma Duelist like him… or Go Onisuka for that matter!" Sora said, "What do you think Matoyia?" he asked him, "He's alright, not as handsome as yours truly!" he said smirking, while Sora and Yui laughed.

"Hey! Now that just uncalled for!" he scolded them, "Why don't you go to Link VRAINS Sora?" Hiroshi asked the giant, "I have… but I'm a bit worried to do so now, what with the Knights of Hanoi about." he answered, "I've haven't gone in awhile, safer in the real world then in there." he added.

"True, but think of all the exciting Duels that take place there, sure that you'd make you go, just to see them up close." Yui said, "Speaking of Duels, you hear about the Duels taking place tonight?" Matoyia asked.

This made Sora nodded, "Yeah. Go Onisuka is one of them, Dueling someone trying for his title. While the other is Blue Angel!" he said, "Wonder if Playmaker will show up?" Hiroshi said suddenly, while Sora gave a cold glare.

"That coward? Ha! As if..." Sora spat out, clearly not a fan of Playmaker's. "What's with the attitude?" Yui asked him, "Playmaker is nothing more that a simple coward! I mean why is he hiding for?" he said and asked, making them think.

"I don't think he's a coward. I think he's brave, for taking on the Knights of Hanoi all by himself." Hiroshi said, "Then why is he rumored to be deleting his log activities? He shouldn't hide anything against those scum!" Sora argued back, with this making the two get into an argument.

"What do you think about Playmaker, Matoyia?! Yui asked, leaving the two to their argument, "I don't really mind to be honest, what he wants to do is his choice..." he said, "But it makes you wonder though… Why is he fighting Hanoi?" he asked himself, the two other boys heard this and also thought for a while…

Suddenly someone's phone went off, the ringtone happened to be- "Is that the Tetris theme?" Sora asked as Matoyia got his phone out. "Sorry gotta take this." he said getting up and going behind the counter into the back.

He made sure no one else was around before answering. "Hello?" he asked, altering his voice slightly, reason being that the Tetris theme had a program (which he installed) to make the call encrypted, as this was for when someone wanted to speak with Codebuster. Having the call encrypted meant no one could track him or eavesdrop for that matter.

"This is Codebuster yes?" a male voice said back…

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, same time**

Within an office on the building that was SOL Technologies sitting behind his deck, was a man of 26, he had fair skin, his hair was blue and teal swept to one side, he had pink eyes. And his clothing was a suit, that consist of a blue coat with a darker one underneath, a white shirt and a black tie, as well blue trousers and black dress shoes.

This man was Akira Zaizen, the Security Manager for SOL Technologies, and he was currently on the phone, "Yes, this is him!" Codebuster who was on the other end said back, "Oh good, listen, Bishop-sama would like to request you for something." he said to him.

"Sure I'm free, what do they want?" Codebuster asked, "He would like it if you could go into Link VRAINS tonight and help with some scanning for the company?" Akira asked, "Scanning? What are you scanning for?" he asked back, "That's classified, but the pay you'll get for this will be deceit, higher than for what you got this morning." Akira told him.

There was about a 30 second before Codebuster replied, "Fine, when do you want me there?" he said, not to sure if this was a good idea. "10 to 8, just before the Duels that are set to take place tonight!" Akira said, happier now that he had Codebuster involved like the Higher ups wanted, he was said to be good at his job as a bounty hunter. Maybe he could help capture the-

"Very well, talk to you later!" Codebuster said, ending the call. Akira then put his phone away, having done what Bishop had requested, but was slightly annoyed by the request, he believed he alone would be enough to retrieve the Ignis. But Bishop didn't put all his eggs in one basket.

"Let's hope this is over and done with fast..." he sighed out and returned to his work.

* * *

 **Back at Café Haru**

Having just put his phone away, he started to make his way back to his friend, he then told him that something came up so he couldn't come to watch the Duels, that the three had planned while he was away with his call.

" _God these lot seem to makes plans without me, then try and rope me in last minute._ " he thought smiling as Yui made another joke. He then got to thinking, " _Now what would Bishop need so bad that he needs to call me in?_ " he asked himself.

However he couldn't think of an answer, due to the fact he had no idea what he was actually helping to find, " _Oh well… I find out later tonight._ " he added, then got back into the conversation.

* * *

 **The Knights of Hanoi base (30 minutes later)**

Standing within the base was Revolver, going through some data, that would hopefully help in finding the Ignis that got away, and when he got his hands on that AI, he would-

"Master Revolver!" someone called for him as they teleported in, Revolver turned to greet them, and there standing was man of fair skin with grey hair and blue eyes, he wore a white suit with yellow outlines, a black stripe on his chest and white shoes.

"What is it Spectre?" Revolver asked, this was Spectre, another Knight of Hanoi, and Revolver's assissant. "We've found traces of the Ignis, and I've also just received a report from Ares." he said.

"If SOL Technologies gets hold of the Ignis, then the Cyberse will be reborn." Spectre said, "And if that happens, our efforts will be for naught." he said, "What was Ares's report?" he asked.

"Ares has reported that SOL Technologies will be scanning Link VRAINS later on during the Duels that are to take place!" he said, "Hmm.. the Ignis must have resurfaced recently without us noticing." Revolver said turning back to the screen. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes, Ares has also created a virus that will help to disrupt the scanning, he only needs your-" Spectre, but then Revolver cut him off, "Very well, let him unleash it, when they begin the scanning only, and tell him if he has sight of the Ignis capture it and bring it back here!" he ordered.

"I'll tell him now… But before I go, I need to tell you something else!" Spectre said, "What?" Revolver asked, "An individual, going by the name of Playmaker, has been hindering our efforts." he said.

"An agent of SOL Technologies, perhaps?" Revolver asked, "No… Knowing them, they'd make moves against us publicly." he retorted himself. "He has skillfully blocked all of our tracking methods, and erased his activity from Link VRAINS's log. Quiet the adept hacker." he said.

"Interesting… but leave it alone for now, if he or anyone gets in the way… Valcry or Ares can deal with them… Searching for Ignis is more important than that!" Revolver said. Spectre nodded then took his leave. Letting Revolver get back to his thoughts. "Soon… this will end soon..." he said to himself.

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza, 19:49 PM**

It was now dark out, with people now gathering within the square to look at the giant screens, that were mainly used to watch Duels take place with Link VRAINS.

"Thank you!" Yui said, having paided for her meal from a mobile food truck, getting a chilli dog, fires and a coke. "Come again!" the owner of the truck, Shoichi Kusanagi said. he was about 23, had purple hair with small goatee with the same colour. He was currently wearing an apron, having just served a customer.

"Shoichi, are you done?" Yusaku asked, having hidden in the corner of the truck while Shoichi dealt with the customer. "Yeah." he said, as he then shut everything up, while Yusaku typed something into a panel, that booted up a computer system.

"Right let's get back to this trap!" Shoichi said as he sat down, "Did you really have to serve her?" Yusaku asked typing away, "Sorry about that, but that girl sure was persistent." Shoichi said.

"We need to get this ready before its too late, otherwise SOL Technologies or Hanoi will get the AI!" Yusaku said.

"Between the two groups, which do you think will get it, if not us by chance?" Shoichi asked, "Hanoi! Their equipment is probably more advanced then the other..." Yusaku said, not taking his eyes away.

"Well I hope it's SOL, after all, the information also said that Codebuster would be helping out with the scan!" he said, "Codebuster, he's that bounty hunter, right?" Yusaku asked. "Yeah, and he's quite good at it, but I think you could handle him should you duel him." Shoichi said.

"I've no reason to Duel him, unless he gets in the way." was all Yusaku said. "Still I wonder what Codebuster is thinking about right now?" Shoichi said to himself.

* * *

 **Link VRAINS (same time)**

" _Man this is boring!_ " Codebuster thought with a frown, as he was standing a top of a virtual building, where a bunch of drones were floating about. " _Still, at least I know that we're looking for an AI called Ignis!_ " he added.

He managed to find out what they were looking for, quite easy to be frank, all he did was ask one of the drones, it wasn't smart enough to know that he wasn't allowed to know, and just told him. And if that didn't work he would've hacked their systems for the answer.

"Alright you lot!" he said, gaining the drones attention, he then made a 3D map of the virtual world appear, then pinpointed a certain area, "The Ignis was last seen in this area, so I want you lot to spread out in a ring formation to begin the scan in that area, then move onto the next area, understood?" he said, they beeped, signalling yes.

They then started to make their way to their designations for when they were given the go sign to begin. "Time for me to do my part." he said, as he started to jump to the next the building, however, he was unaware that another figure was about.

This figure at about 6'3 ft, his hair was spiky and mainly red that had some hair hanging over his left eye, there was also black mixed into his hair, over his face was a grey mask with a red X for the right eye lens, his mouth was free of this mask and he sported earrings in the shape of gold suns. His clothing was a white jumpsuit, with some streaks of blood red here and there. On his left arm was the new version of the Duel Disk, that was gold in colour.

This being was Ares, a member of the Knights of Hanoi, currently waiting for the scan to do his part of his mission. "It would be nice if SOL would hurry it up right about now!" he muttered to himself, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Still it will be nice, until all the carnage starts!" he said smiling to himself. While he waited, he started to hear an announcement.

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza (20:00 PM)**

"Are you all fired up for this?!" the MC asked the crowd, as spotlights had started to turn on, with crowd cheering at this, "The exciting Duels by the Charisma Duelists are about to begin in Link VRAINS!" the announcer said.

On one of the screens showcased a man of 19, he was built bulky and was tanned, he had two tone hair that was flattop or a hi-top, brown from his forehead down to his chin, that had a neatly trimmed beard on it, and at the top was blonde, that was the flattop part, with red striped highlights.

For clothing he wears a greenish-grey jacket with no sleeves and it exposed his chest, and wore a gold animal head shaped necklace. He has a lot of gold plating on his legs and armbands and stomach area, for his belt it is also gold and has a red G on it. This man was Go Onizuka, known to many as the King of Link VRAINS.

Go Onizuka's location within Link VRAINS was the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, and within the crowd was Sora, whistling for Go Onizuka, while Hiroshi was a bit moody and Yui just ate her meal.

On the other screen was a girl… a magical girl to be exact, she has blue hair mixed with some lighter blue, it was tied up into two strands by blue ribbons with this making two hearts. These strands frame her face. On her back were two pure white wings with a pink heart and a lavender clovers on each wing. On her right cheek was a green clover, her eyes were also lavender and she had two heart shaper earrings with a wing on them.

For clothing, she wears a white sleeveless shirt with a blue neck tie, underneath this she wears a blue and pink dress with some wing shaped frills, as well as dark blue thigh-high stockings and her shoes were similar. This was Blue Angel, the second ranked Charisma Duelist, and due to her popularity, she is also consider Link VRAINS's cover girl. Her location was on top of some rooftop, that was somewhere in Florence, Italy.

"In Area #1, we have our rough and tough hooligan, who uses the Gouki Deck. Heres... Go Onizuka!" the MC declared with the crowd cheering at this, "And in Area #2, we have the lovable, hug-able and the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. Our cover girl for Link VRAINS who uses the Trickster Deck. Blue Angel!" he said and the crowd (mainly the obsessive fans) cheered for her.

"Hey there!" Blue Angel said waving at the audience. "Now everyone who can access Link VRAINS, come on in! And for those out here, keep your eyes on the screens!" he said, "Go! Go Onizuka! Blue Angel!" Naoki said from the crowd, holding in each hand a fan, one for Go Onizuka, the other for Blue Angel.

* * *

 **Café Haru, second story (same time)**

The second story was the living area and kitchen of the building, currently in this part was Aito lying down on the floor with a pillow to rest his head and arms on, Asuka was sitting down looking on her notepad for something.

"Shame Matoyia can't watch with us..." Aito whispered out, a bit saddened that Matoyia was in his room, currently in Link VRAINS. "Yeah… but hey, at least he's in Link VRAINS!" she pointed out to him, "I guess so..." he said as he waited for the Duels to begin.

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, Monitoring Room (same time)**

"MSD Verson 99671 most recent update, complete!" an operator said while others went over other systems required for the scan. Within this room was Akira, watching over all this, "Good, now begin!" he instructed.

In Link VRAINS, Codebuster was just given the clear, "Begin!" he shouted, with the drones beginning their scans, he was however a bit concerned, " _With all the scanning that's now taking place, the security for the system will be lower than usual…_ " he thought looking about. " _I just hope this all goes according to plan._ " he added.

Meanwhile with Ares, he was currently looking at a bar of some sorts, which happened to be monitoring the security for Link VRAINS this bar was slowly going down, "55, 46, 34, and… 30%!" he said, then smirked, "Perfect time for the beginning… to the end!" he shouted, snapped his fingers, triggering something.

While that happened, the Ignis was running away, trying not to be caught in the scanned areas, "This is bad! I don't have anywhere to run now!" he yelled, then took off.

Back with SOL Technologies, one program of the server was started to glitch… which then started to spread to the other program, thus comprimising the entire thing, "IPA 078388, there's an intruder in the system!" an operator said, trying to sort the problem out.

"The firewall is about to break!" they said.

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

"What the hell is happening!?" Codebuster shouted, trying to call for someone from SOL Technologies, but all he got was static. He then looked to the sky, were he spotted an area where the firewall was starting the breakdown, it shattered, and flying through was a Knight of Hanoi, riding on top a Cracking Dragon, then another appeared.

"The Knights of Hanoi are attacking!" Codebuster said, again all he got was static, " ***sigh*** Looks like I'll have to sort this out!" he said running to where the Knights were heading to…

Meanwhile, in the real world, the screens showing the Duels were acting up, with the lot in Link VRAINS noticing this as well. "What the heck is happening!?" Naoki shouted.

And within Cafe Nagi, Shoichi and Yusaku were pinpointing what was happening, "This program… It's the Knights of Hanoi!" Shoichi said, "There here now, huh?" Yusaku said, feeling something strange, "What is this feeling." he muttered.

Where Go Onizuka was, the two Knights of Hanoi on there Cracking Dragon broke through where he was, they flew past, then flying past Blue Angel's location. "What is that?" she said in shock and confusion. "Excuse me!" Codebuster said rushing passed her. "Codebuster?" she said.

"Where is the Ignis!?" one of the Knights said to themselves, he then looked to the other, "Crush all that stand in our way!" he ordered, the other nodded, and ordered his Cracking Dragon to start destroying the area, some people were caught in this, and their accounts were then deleted.

"Damn it!" Codebuster swore, he couldn't do anything to save them, "What the hell are the Knights looking for the Ignis for?" he muttered to himself, "I know right, why can't they leave me be!" the Ignis said, having been next to Codebuster.

"Yeah, why can't they-" Codebuster went to say, but stopped…

…

…

…

He slowly turned to his right, and saw it, the Ignis… well, what was left of it, which was it's eye, that was looking back at him. "What!?" it asked, however Codebuster didn't respond, and just lifted his none Duel Disk arm.

"There you are!" Codebuster shouted, then shot at the AI, who took off, "Ah! What the hell are you shooting at me for!?" it yelled as it ran. As Codebuster gave chase, it's shouting attracted some unwanted attention, "I've found you Ignis!" the Knight said as his Cracking Dragon destroyed some debris.

"Where's my way out!?" Ignis said, phasing out, then back in somewhere else, "Where… Where… Where is it?!" it asked, while it two pursuers gave chase, "Get out of my way!" the two shouted at the other.

Suddenly the blue rail beam appeared out of nowhere, shocking the two, "Found it!" Ignis said, jumping onto the rail. "Where is it going?" Codebuster asked. Then they tried to follow the rail.

* * *

Back within the Florence area, which had now been partially destroyed was Blue Angel running for her virtual life, while the other knight loamed over her.

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza...**

Back in the real world, Yusaku, having caught the AI with his trap program, was watching from the screen, "We're running out of time, let's go!" he said, running back into the mobile trunk, "Go? Go where?" Ignis asked, "Link VRAINS!" Yusaku said running into a sealed chamber. "But I just got away from there..." it whined.

He then took his Deck out of his pocket, "Deck Set!" he shouted, setting the Deck into his Duel Disk, "Into the VRAINS!" he said, as he was then shrouded in a data sphere. A few moments later, after a transformation, Yusaku had now become Playmaker. He then flew into a portal leading into the virtual world.

* * *

 **With Codebuster…**

He was currently giving chase after the Knight he was with when they discovered that the Ignis had vanished, "Where do you think your going?!" he yelled to the knight. But then he spotted the other Knight and his Cracking Dragon, said monster was about to unleash it flame on Blue Angel. "Be Gone!" the knight said, as the dragon released it's flame.

"No!" Codebuster yelled, but then, just before the flames could touch her, a figure came out of nowhere and rushed her out of the way. "Who is-" he went to say, shocked that someone was brave enough to risk their virtual life for someone else in this situation.

"We really came back..." Ignis said, annoyed by it being back in here, "The Ignis!" Codebuster shouted, then rushed over to them, "Crap! It's the crazy shooter!" The AI yelled, "Who are you?" Codebuster, Blue Angel and the Knights asked the stranger.

"My name is Playmaker!" he declared, shocking them, " _So that's Playmaker, huh?_ " Codebuster thought, "And the thing that you're looking for is right here!" he said, lifting his Duel Disk up to show the Ignis off.

"Stop your attack on Link VRAINS! Or I'll delete this right here and now!" he said, shocking his captive, "Wait! Hold on a second!" Ignis pleaded, "Your holding your saviour _hostage!?_ " it asked annoyed with Playmaker.

"The Program has been changed into a Duel Program!" Playmaker explained, "If you want to get your hands on it, you'll have the beat me in a Duel!" he added, "Wow didn't know Playmaker was capable of something like this..." Codebuster muttered to himself.

"Very well! I'll have you learn what it means to make yourself an enemy of the Knights of Hanoi!" one the knights said, with the two getting ready to take on Playmaker together, "Oh no you don't!" Codebuster yelled, shooting the second one's Duel Disk, linking them, "What!?" the second said shocked.

"It's unfair to tag team against one person..." he said, then turned to Playmaker, "I'll take this one, you deal with the first..." he said, then walked closer to the second to start his Duel. While the first knight jumped down from his dragon.

"This doesn't look good..." Ignis said, having gone through Playmaker's Deck, "That dragon is really strong, and I don't think you have anything in your Deck that can beat it!" it said, "Says you. If I lose this Duel, you'll fall into the hands of Hanoi." Playmaker as heard explosion take place, most likely from Codebuster's Duel.

"So you better pray that I win!" he added, "AI's don't pray! They only make calculations to win!" it said, its eye then lit up…

With Codebuster, he was in the middle of his Duel, both Duelist had their Life Points untouched, it was the third turn of the Duel, on his field he had two Cyber Dragons and a face-down, on his opponent's side, the knight had a monster called Jack Wyvern. "I activate my Jack Wyvern's effect!" the knight said.

"I banish it, and Special Summon 1 DARK monster from my Graveyard!" he said smirking, as his wyvern burst into particles, "I Summon Cracking Dragon!" he said, with the mechanical dragon appearing with a roar.

"Great, this just got-" Codebuster said, but then the ground started to shake, "Huh?" he said confused, he looked around just to see a purple beam of light end, suddenly a purple and blue data wind picked up flowing around everywhere.

"This wind… It can't be a-" the Knight said in shock, "A Data Storm!?..." Codebuster finished for him, as the two braced themselves against the wind. As this happened, Playmaker now on a D-Board, a vehicle that came with the rest of the data that the AI releashed.

"Grab the wind Playmaker!" Ignis said, while Playmaker got the hang of the ride, Codebuster punched in a command on his Duel Disk, which made the drone on his back fly off, "Follow and record them!" he ordered, the drone beeped taking off after Playmaker.

"Now let's get back to our Duel..." Codebuster said.

With Playmaker, he was just riding the Data Storm, "This wind, this is a Speed Duel!?" he asked, "By the way Playmaker-sama, do you know the difference between Speed and Master Duels?" Ignis asked.

"No, tell me and keep it short" Playmaker said, "My, you're acting pretty bossy to someone trying to teach you..." the AI said, "You need to remember to I have you hostage." Playmaker reminded his captive.

"Fine, I'll keep it short..." Ignis said, then explained the rules. During a Speed Duel, the major difference to the layout is that there only three Main Monster Zones, same with the Spell/Trap Zones. And that each player starts with 4 cards instead of 5 for a Master Duel, and like a Master Duel, the player who starts the Duel cannot draw a card, and there is no second Main Phase after the battle phase.

"And that's pretty much it." the AI finished, "Sounds simpler than a Master Duel, huh?" Playmaker said. "Exactly!" Ignis said, just then the Knight, the one that was to Duel Playmaker, appeared on his own D-Board.

"A Speed Duel, huh?" he said smirking, "Interesting..." he added, "Hmm… Looks like he knows how to Speed Duel too..." the AI said, "If you want, I can give you some support." it added, "That won't be necessary!" Playmaker said.

"Hey! I'm trying my hardest to stay alive here too you know!" the AI retorted, "Quiet! I need to concentrate." Playmaker said, "Let's go!" the knight said, soaring past, meanwhile Codebuster's drone caught up and was now recording.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing four cards each.

Playmaker's LP's: **4000**

Knight of Hanoi's LP's **4000**

"That punk! He's standing out more than me!" Go Onizuka said, having gotten onto the rooftops, where he was then joined by Blue Angel.

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story...**

"Speed Duel?" Aito asked his sister, "I've heard a rumor about another kind of Dueling, but I didn't believe it..." Asuka said, watching the Duel, "Dueling, while riding the winds within Link VRAINS!" she said. Aito looked back at the screen now more interested in the Duel.

"Speed Duelling… Huh?" he said smiling.

* * *

 **Back to the Duel.**

 **Turn 1**

"I'll be taking the first turn!" the Knight said, "My turn!" he said, waving his hand to show his cards floating in front of him, he smiled, having gotten a good first hand.

"The perfect hand! With this I can come at you full power from the very start!" he said, then waved his hand away.

"I Special Summon Hack Worm!" he said, as data merged together and form the monster, it was a worm like creature, that was dark grey with some dark gold here and there, it had two floating pieces close to it, and was covered with green energy across its body.

 **Hack Worm: DARK, Level: 1 [Machine/Effect] ATK/400 DEF/** 0

"I can Special Summon this card from my Hand, when you control no monsters!" he said. "Special Summoning a monster with 400 ATK?" Playmaker muttered, "So you're planning to bring out a high Level monster!" he concluded.

"Correct!" the knight said, "I now Special Summon another Hack Worm!" he said as a second Hack Worm appeared.

"This is bad… This may mean he'll bring that thing out..." Ignis said a bit scared, not having any good memory with said thing. "Playmaker, with this card, your hero act comes to an end!" the knight said.

"I release my two Hack Worms..." he said as with a wave of his hand the monsters in question vanished, "And… Advanced Summon! Level 8! Cracking Dragon!" he said as the mechanical dragon with a similar design to the Hack Worms appeared with a roar as it was Summoned to the knights Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Cracking Dragon: DARK, Level: 8 [Machine/Effect] ATK/3000 DEF/** 0

"And then I end my turn there..." he said.

Knight of Hanoi's Hand x 1

* * *

 **With Codebuster...**

It was now the fourth turn, however, due to Cracking Dragon now on the field, Codebuster lost 900 Life Points last turn, as the knight had attacked and destroyed a Cyber Dragon, it was now his turn.

Draw!" he said, drawing his card, making the amount 2, "I Normal Summon Proto-Cyber Dragon!" he said, as the miniature mechanical serpent appeared. This made the Knight smirk, "Fool! Cracking Dragon's effect now activates!" he said.

"When you Normal or Special Summon exactly one monster, that monster loses 200 ATK times it Level!" he said, Cracking Dragon roared as the smaller of the two mechanical serpent curled inwards, losing 600 ATK. "And that's not all, you then take damage equal to the ATK that that monster lost! Crack Fall!" he said, as the roar pushed Codebuster back, as he lost 600 points, making him now have 2500.

"Great… I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Photon Generator Unit!" Codebuster said, "I tribute two Cyber Dragons..." he said, as the two Cyber Dragons, technically one but Proto-Cyber's effect treated it as a Cyber Dragon, burst into particle.

"This allows me to Special Summon 1 Cyber Laser Dragon from my Hand or Deck!" he said, this caused a similar mechanical serpent to Cyber Dragon to appear, but at the end of its tail was a device. It was Level 7.

"Ha! Cracking Dragon's effect once again! Crack Fall!" the knight said, the dragon roared, lowering Laser Dragon's ATK to 1000, and making Codebuster take 1400 damage, leaving him with only 1100.

"Laser Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can destroy 1 monster with ATK or DEF equal or higher than this card's ATK!" Codebuster said, shocking the knight. "I'll take out your Cracking Dragon!" he said.

While Laser Dragon destroyed the monster in question, "Let's see how Playmaker is doing..." he said, waving his hand, making a screen appear, showing live feed from his drone. "Great… the other knight has his Cracking Dragon out..." he muttered. He then turned back to his opponent, "Battle! Laser Dragon, attack him directly!" he said.

The dragon charged its tail up, releasing a beam at the defenceless, hitting him for 1000 damage, leaving him at 3000. "I end my turn!" he said, then turned back to the video, " _I hope you can get out of that like I did..._ " he thought with concern.

* * *

 **With Playmaker...**

 **Turn 2**

"It's already here!" Ignis cried out in slight fear, gazing at the Cracking Dragon, " _A monster with 3000 ATK on the first turn..._ " Playmaker thought, looking at his Hand, he was deep in thought, "Hey! Playmaker-sama!" Ignis said, "Shut up." Playmaker said.

"Look out! In front of you!" the AI shouted, making him look up to see that they were headed for a building, he turned to the right, dodging it, his opponent did the same… his monster however rammed right into the building destroying it.

"Be careful. In a Speed Duel, there are obstacles to watch out for." the Ignis said, "Also, if you take too much damage, when you leave Link VRAINS, there's a feedback effect… And you'll take mental damage!" it said.

"Say. You said that I couldn't win with my Deck, but you seem to recognise that monster..." Playmaker pointed out, shocking the AI, "Finally you seem to understand." it said, Playmaker then went to draw his card, the lining on his suit glowed.

"My turn! I draw!" he said drawing his card, which he flipped to see what it was, " _This will do nicely..._ " he thought, then took two cards from his Hand, "I Set two cards!" he said as two cards appeared face-down before fading.

"Then I Normal Summon Cyberse Wizard!" he said, with this causing a wizard in a white-green outline coat, black skintight outfit to appear, he had bright green hair that covered the left side of his face, he also had green eyes. He wore grey shoulder pads with blue gems fitted into them, along with grey boots that were lined with grey lighting. He was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Cyberse Wizard: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 800

With Codebuster he was just looking at the screen, then looked back at his opponent, but then did a double take at the screen, "Is that a Cyberse monster!?" he yelled in shock and confusion. " _I haven't seen one since..._ " he said, but stopped himself, he didn't want to bring up old memories.

Playmaker's opponent's interest had been peeked, "To think that he uses the Cyberse archetype..." the knight said, having been told by Master Revolver, that most, if not all of them had been wiped out. "This is unexpected, but it's still powerless against Cracking Dragon!" he said.

"I now activate its effect!" he said, "When you Summon exactly 1 monster during your turn, Normal or Special Summon. That monster loses 200 ATK x it Level, then you take damage equal to that lost ATK!" he said.

"Crack Full!" he shouted, as Cracking Dragon unleashed a strong wind, pushing Playmaker and Cyberse Wizard forward. Cyberse Wizard's ATK: **1800 – 800 = 1000** , Playmaker's LP's: **4000 – 800 = 3200**.

"He lowered Cyberse Wizards ATK!?" Playmaker gritted out at such a powerful effect, "But, now I activate its effect!" he said, this made Cyberse Wizard bring his hands together, to create a simple long staff.

"Once per turn, I can target 1 monster you control in Attack Position, and change it into Defense! Cyberse Algorithm!" he said, as the staff lit up with data, this then made Cracking Dragon kneel down as it was placed in Defense.

"Oh!?" the knight said smirking, "And on the turn Cyberse Wizard uses this effect, all Cyberse-type monsters can deal piercing battle damage!" Playmaker added, ""Battle! Cyberse Wizard, attack Cracking Dragon! Illusion Spike!" he ordered.

The Wizard's staff started to spark with electricity, which hit Cracking Dragon causing an explosion, "All right! Playmaker took out Hanoi's dragon!" Naoki yelled from the real world.

But all the knight did was laugh, as when the smoke cleared, Cracking Dragon was unharmed, the knight however did take damage as he glowed yellow. Knight of Hanoi's LP's: **4000 – 1000 = 3000**.

"Too bad, but Cracking Dragon cannot be destroyed by a monster with a Level equal or lower than its own!" the knight explained smirking.

"What!? It had such an effect?! Has the enemy evolved as well?!" Ignis shouted in shock, "So that explains that..." Playmaker said, "You don't seem very surprised Playmaker-sama." it said, "Yeah. He didn't look at all disturbed that I used Cyberse Wizard's effect. So that meant he had something planned." he said.

"Huh? You don't even let your opponent's reactions pass you do you?" it asked, "I now end my turn there!" he said. "With it ending, Cracking Dragon's effect ends too!" he said as Cyberse Wizard's ATK returned to normal. **1000 = 1800**. (Cyberse Wizard)

Playmaker's Hand x 2

* * *

 **Back with Codebuster…**

"Laser Dragon, Proto-Cyber Dragon, attack him directly!" he said, it was the sixth turn of the duel, the knight had passed his turn, seeing that he clearly didn't have a good card to use, Codebuster drew another Proto-Cyber Dragon, summoned it, and with Laser Dragon's ATK back to normal, he decided to end to Duel right here right now.

His opponent having been hit directly twice, was flown backwards and hit a wall, where Codebuster shot his wrist shooter at the falling knight, containing him with a brace locking his arms and pinning him to the wall. "There. A gift for SOL Technologies!" he said, then looked at the screen.

"Now let's see if I can- Oh! They're close by..." he said, pinpointing where his drone was, and it told him that it was circling by soon, "Need to get close then follow them!" he said running off, jumping onto the rooftops. " _I need to speak to Playmaker before he gets away, I need to know where he got that card..._ " he thought.

* * *

 **Back with the Duel…**

 **Turn 3**

"An ATK of 3000, and it can't be destroyed by a monster with a Level equal or less than 8!? That's too much of an advantage!" Naoki said concerned as were most of the other civilians in the crowd, "I hope Playmaker can get out of this..." Hiroshi said.

Next to Naoki was Kusanagi, who was looking at Yusaku on the screen, " _Please do something, Yusaku..._ " he thought with worry.

"My turn! Draw!" the knight said, "It looks like the match has been decided here… I'll now be activating my Skill!" he said, "Skill?" Codebuster said watching from his feed, his Duel Disk then showed him something, "A Skill, an ability that can only be used within a Speed Duel, and can only be used once during that Duel..." he read.

"I activate the Skill, Double Draw!" the knight said, drawing 2 cards instead of one, "This Skill lets me draw 2 cards instead of one when I activate it!" he said, "No way!?" Playmaker yelled, "I've never heard of a Skill like that! Hanoi made it themselves!" Ignis said.

The knight then waved his hand too see his Hand. "Wonderful! Now my strategy is one step close to being perfect!" he said, "I now activate the Spell, DDoS Attack!" he said waving his hand over one of the cards.

"With this card's effect, I send two other DDoS Attack cards from my Deck to the Graveyard..." he said sending two as they were ejected from his Deck. "Then I target a Machine Type monster I control and your dealt 100 damage for each card I sent to the Graveyard times the Level of the targeted monster!" he explained shocking everyone.

"I sent two, and my target will be Cracking Dragon, meaning you'll take 2 lots of 800 damage!" he said, and from the card came a red energy beam, that hit Playmaker, sending him flying off his D-Board as he started to fall. **3200 – 1600 = 1600**. (Playmaker)

The audience were in shock at this, so was Playmaker, but out of nowhere, a blue energy thorn whip, courtesy of Blue Angel came out of nowhere, and snapped his D-Board to his direction, he saw this and grabbed the board, getting back on it.

As the Playmaker took off, Blue Angel landed and disbursed her whip, "Playmaker… I've returned the favour!" she said smiling, having paided him back for saving her back then. With Codebuster, he was sighing with relief.

"Thank god! I don't want to have to deal with the other Knight should he die..." he said as he kept giving chase.

"I told you not to let your guard down… If you had taken damage from a fall from that height, your real body would've died!" Ignis said, "Hmm... Looks like you barely survived that one… You're a lucky one." the knight said grinning.

Playmaker was about to say something, but he notice something up ahead, "What is that?" he said, up ahead was what appeared to be a twister, comprised of the Data Storm, "The Data Storm is becoming unstable!" Ignis said.

"So its now a dangerous place huh?" Playmaker said, "I set a card..." the knight said with a wave of his hand, the card was set, appearing on his field, then faded. "Then I change Cracking Dragon into Attack Position!" he said, this made the dragon raise its head and roar.

"Then I activate the Equip-Spell, Air Crack Storm! Equipping it onto Cracking Dragon!" he said, this caused four blue missile like protrusions to appear on Cracking Dragon. "When the equipped monster destroys another monster by battle, it can attack again!" he explained.

"This is bad. If Cyberse Wizard goes, you'll lose!" Ignis said, "Be quiet! I know this." Playmaker said, meanwhile the knight laughed, "With Cracking Dragon on my field, I am the strongest Duelist!" the knight said.

"That's BS!" Codebuster retorted, after all, he just took down one of those dragons in his Duel with the other knight not too long ago.

"Battle! Cracking Dragon attack Cyberse Wizard! Traffic Blast!" he ordered, the dragon turned to face the wizard and charged a beam. "Trap activate! Three Strike Barrier!" Playmaker said as a set card flipped up.

"When you control exactly three cards. I can choose from 1 of this card's effect!" he said as this card's effect were shown to him. "I choose during this turn, that monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle!" he said.

Just as Cracking Dragon released it breath, a barrier appeared around Cyberse Wizard, protecting it, "But you'll still take damage!" the knight said. "To the right Playmaker!" Ignis said, making Playmaker dodge to the right, avoiding the blast, but still taking damage. **1600 – 1200 = 400**. (Playmaker)

"I end my turn!" the knight said, but smiled at what he saw approaching.

Knight of Hanoi's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"It looks like this match has been decided..." the knight said, "Wrong! I still have LP remaining." Playmaker retorted, but the knight just laughed at him, "Fool! You fail to understand the true meaning of my words!" he said, this caused Playmaker to look forward and see that the twister was approaching him destroying several buildings along the way.

Playmaker was then caught up in the wind, screaming to stay balanced, hoping to ride the strong winds. "You'll be consumed by the Data Storm… And meet your end!" the knight said with smirk and laughed as Playmaker was pulled into the Storm.

"Playmaker!" Codebuster yelled to him, slightly out of breath now, having runned to catch up to them.

With Playmaker in the storm, he had just managed to keep himself with his D-Board, having been flung from it before, and was now trying to keep himself in one piece. The Data Storm destroyed several more buildings, one of which Codebuster was on prior. "Man if I was there still, I'd be like that building..." he muttered shivering at the thought.

"You… You led me here on purpose!" Playmaker concluded, "Oh… so you noticed." Ignis said smugly, "And was you telling me about Skills apart of this calculation of yours?!" he said, "Right! That's because this Data Storm is your only chance at beating him!" it said.

"What are you talking about?!" Playmaker said trying to keep his balance again, "Unknown monsters live inside the Data Storm." Ignis explained, "Monsters!?" he said, "Yes! And the more violent the Data Storm, the more powerful the monsters!" it said, however, neither of them realised something was approaching them.

"Now it is time for you to use you Skill, Storm Access!" it said, "If you don't we'll never make it out!" it added, Playmaker took a moment to think about this, "Alright!" he said, "This Skill can only be used when your LP's are below 1000, and you'll be abe to access one card from the Data Storm!" Ignis said explaining how the skill worked.

Playmaker lifted his hand, which glowed from the circuit like pattern, "Now! Grab the wind, Playmaker!" Ignis shouted, Playmaker then held his hand out in front of him, slowly but surely a card was starting to form.

While Ignis watched this, it heard a roar from within the storm, "Hmm?" it said looking around, and then it saw it, a shadow was fast approaching them, "Playmaker! Dodge!" it yelled, causing it captor to look back in shock, and dive to the left, just dodging the shadow which took back deeper into the storm.

"Is that one of the monsters!?" Playmaker said as the card forming in his hand disintegrated, "Hmm, must have been… It must want to get out..." Ignis said, "Nevermind that, quickly try it again!" it said.

Playmaker then once again held his hand up, where another card started to form from data from the storm, it got difficult the longer he held it, so he braced his hand. "Hold on, Playmaker!" Ignis said.

"I have three reasons why I must win this Duel!" he said, trying to his mind off the pain, "One: In order to take back the time that was stolen from me!" he said remembering something from his past. "Two: In order to save Kusanagi-san's little brother from darkness!" he said, thinking of his friend's brother who had gone through the same thing as him, only he was worse off.

"And Three: In order for me to find the one who gave me courage!" he yelled determined as the card was forming even more than before, "Do it now!" Ignis yelled, "Storm Access!" Playmaker shouted as the card was now complete...

Back outside the Data Storm, Codebuster was starting to get worried, coming to a conclusion, "He's gone..." he muttered sad, there goes his hope of finding out why he had a Cyberse card, just like he- "Huh?" he said looking at the storm, which was glowing.

"No way..." he said, shocked, suddenly the storm split apart, as though something had split it, and this revealed Playmaker still alive, shocking the knight. "What!? Impossible! You should've been swallowed up by the Data Storm..." the knight said.

"Not yet! This match is far from over!" Playmaker yelled, "My turn! I draw!" he said drawing his card, "I activate Cyberse Wizard's effect! Cyberse Algorithm!" he said as the staff lit up putting Cracking Dragon back into Defense once again.

"You don't know when to give up! I activate my Trap, Pulse Bomb!" the knight shouted, "When I control a Machine-Type monster, I can set all of your monsters in Attack into Defense!" he said as mines appeared around Cyberse Wizard, setting it into Defense.

"Don't get so flustered!" Playmaker said, "I Normal Summon Stack Reviver!" he said, making a small stack robot to appear, it was white-grey in colour, it had two thin arms, one of either side of the monster, within it stack like body were blue glass like panels, one of these panels was being held by the monster, at the bottom of the stack was a black and grey box like footing. Between this was a line of yellow data, and on the upper part on two black lines, going from the front to the back on the monster were two small green line like eyes. He Summoned it the right Main Monster Zone on his side.

 **Stack Reviver: DARK, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/100 DEF/** 600

"Another Cyberse monster..." Codebuster said, "No matter what monster you Summon, Pulse Bomb will set it into DEF!" the knight said, as Stack Reviver was placed into Defense.

"Fool… You seem to have forgotten Crack Dragon's effect!" he said, "Your LP is only 400… And what you'll take for summoning that monster will finish what's left! Crack Full!" he shouted as Cracking Dragon's effect took affect. Stack Reviver's ATK: **100 – 400 = 0** , **400 – 100 = 300**. (Playmaker)

"How did you-" the knight said shocked, that should've finished him off. "You don't seem to understand Cracking Dragon's effect..." Playmaker said, "That thing only lowers my LP by the amount of ATK my monster lost! Stack Reviver originally only had 100 ATK, so that's all I lost!" he explained.

The knight having heard this, was annoyed, "So you took a bit of damage just to fortify your defences?!" the knight said, "I'm not that naive of a Duelist." Playmaker said grinning.

"I now activate from my Hand the Spell, Effect Cowl!" he said, "As long as I control a Cyberse-type monster, I cannot take effect damage for the rest of the turn!" he said, "And then I activate the Trap, Cyberse Beacon!" he said as his other face-down flipped up.

"On the turn I take damage, I can add 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse-type monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he said as a card was ejected which he took, "Then I Special Summon Backup Secretary!" he said.

This made a woman with short purple hair with spiky ends at the back to appear, she had a strange large hi-tech hairpin on the left side of her hair. She wore a black visor that was attached to grey-blue lining headset, as well as a full skintight, latex black-silver and purple dress that had four figures on the front of this dress. There was also a see-through skirt, silver and purple boots, puffy silver shoulder pads and a silver cape, that had two USB cable coming out from behind her back just before the cape. And in her hand was a hi-tech clipboard. He Summoned her in the left Main Monster Zone in DEF Position.

 **Backup Secretary: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 800

"This card can be Special Summoned from my Hand, when I control a Cyberse-type monster!" he explained. "It doesn't matter how many trash monsters you gather, they're all powerless against Cracking Dragon!" the knight said as Cracking Dragon growled.

"Is that knight really that stupid..." Codebuster said, from his Duel, he knew the weakness of Cracking Dragon, however he didn't use one. "Is that so?..." Playmaker said smiling, "I'm about to call forth my trump card!" he said.

"Trump card?! Don't make me laugh. As long as I control Cracking Dragon, who can't be destroyed by a monster with a Level equal or lower than its Level, and that I have Pulse Bomb which will put your monsters into..." the knight said, but then stopped, thinking of something.

"It can't be!?..." he yelled out coming to a conclusion of what Playmaker was about to do. "Come forth! The circuit that will leads to the future!" Playmaker shouted with his hand held in the air. This caused sparks to appear from his palm, that then shot into the air.

This then caused the Link Portal to appear, "Arrowheads Confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters!" he said, "I set Stack Reviver, Cyberse Wizard and Back-up Secretary in the Link Markers!" he declared.

This made the monsters in question turn into twisters of their colour scheme. With Stack Reviver going to the middle top, Back-up Secretary to the Bottom Left and Cyberse Wizard into the Bottom Right. When the markers that were hit were red, the portal grew brighter.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Decode Talker!" he said, and forming and appearing from the portal came a monster with dark blue gold trimmed armour, with the armour not properly connected and covering all the monster, what could be seen of the monster its black body that had purple circuit like lines covering it. The armour itself covered the feet to the knees, thighs, upper chest, shoulders wrist and head which was elongated and two pieces on its back. Each armour piece had purple orbs on it. Its eyes were narrow and purple. In its right hand was a giant unique looking sword. It was placed in the Right Extra Monster Zone, where it soared along with Playmaker.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect ]ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"What an interesting looking monster..." Codebuster said, amazed at seeing the powerful monster, "Your trump card was a Link Monster!?" the knight said in shock, "Hmm… To think you'd use the card you drew from Storm Access this well..." Ignis said smug.

"As expected of Playmaker-sama!" it added, "Link Monsters do not possess a Level or a Rank!" Playmaker said, "And they can only be placed in face-up Attack Position!" he added, frustrating the knight as both Cracking Dragon and Pulse Bomb were now useless.

"I now activate the effect of Stack Reviver from my Graveyard!" he said, "Once per duel, when this card is used to Link Summon, I can Special Summon 1 other Level 4 or lower Cyberse-type monster from my Graveyard!" he explained, "I Summon back Cyberse Wizard!" he said, as the Wizard was summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, which Decode Talker pointed to.

"Decode Talker gains 500 ATK for every monster it points to!" Playmaker said, shocking the knight as his Cracking Dragon also pointed to Decode Talker. "Power Integration!" Playmaker yelled as Decode Talker's sword got longer. Decode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 1000 = 3300**.

"An ATK of 3300!?" the knight yelled, "Battle! Decode Talker attack Cracking Dragon!" Playmaker ordered as the Code Talker charged at the monster, "Cyberse Wizard's effect! With it, the Cyberse-type Decode Talker can deal piercing damage!" he added.

"Decode End!" he shouted as Decode's sword hit its mark on the dragon's head, "But Cracking Dragon can't be destroyed by a monster with a Lev-" the knight went to say, but remembered, Link Monsters don't have a Level.

Decode Talker's sword started leaving cracks, ironically on Cracking Dragon, the sword then went though it as the dragon exploded, the knight screamed as he fell off his D-Board, **3000 – 3300 = 0**. (Knight of Hanoi)

Playmaker turned his board around to look at the falling knight, "You have no right to call yourself a Duelist!" he said coldly.

Knight of Hanoi: **LOSE**

Playmaker: **WINS**

Meanwhile Codebuster sighed, " _Thank god… now to get some answers!_ " he thought running after Playmaker. From another rooftop, Ares just stood there unimpressed. "Hmph! Was that all Playmaker had to offer..." he said, "he was only a grunt of the work force, should he face a true knight, like myself, the result would've been worse... for him..." he said as he logged out.

While this happened, the crowd were cheering for Playmaker's victory… well what was lefted of the crowd, most having run off when the Knights first attacked.

"He did it! Playmaker protected Link VRAINS!" Naoki shouted with joy, "Told you he was amazing..." Hiroshi muttered, "Shut up! This one Duel doesn't prove anything!" Sora retorted.

Kusanagi was very relieved, then made his way back to his truck, where Yusaku would be getting out soon.

Back with Playmaker he suddenly jumped off his D-Board, and landed on a rooftop… the same rooftop that the knight fell onto. "Playmaker..." the knight spat out, "Knight of Hanoi! Who are all of you!" Playmaker demanded.

"Like I'd ever tell you..." the knight spat again… but then grinned, tilting his head up as the red lens in his mask blinked, "Because your going to die here with me!" he said with a laugh, shocking the AI, "Oh no! He's going to take us with him!" it yelled.

Playmaker looked to be panicking, thinking the blast radius would be too big to escape, and that he didn't have enough time to log out either… The Ignis however, took action, it glowed, along with gaining a dark aura, making Playmaker snap out of it, to see a shadowy creature rush out of his Duel Disk, but it was still attached to it.

The creature happened to be the Ignis, having taken a monstrous form that had six tentacles, which then wrapped the knight up, it then created a mouth, that extended and covered the knight's head who screamed as he was turned into data as his account was erased.

After that, the Ignis went back into the Duel Disk, turning back into a single eye, "You… What did you just do?..." Playmaker said slowly, "Protected you, duh!" it said, "If I hadn't done anything, you would've taken the damage from that, and your real body would've been injured!" it explained.

"That was a strange sight to see..." a voice said, making Playmaker turn around to see Codebuster standing there out of breath. "You... have no... idea… how much I ran after you..." he breathed out catching his breath. His drone having done its job, attached itself onto his back.

"Ah! Its the shooter!" Ignis cried out, meanwhile Go Onizuka had joined them, jumping over a rail to get onto the roof, "I found you, Playmaker!" he shouted angry, "Duel me, right now!" he demanded.

"Hold on! I was here firs-" Codebuster said but was interrupted by Blue Angel appearing from the other side of Go Onizuka, "You sure put on a fancy show!" she said, "Not you too..." Codebuster got out.

"Quite impressive! But now… turn yourself over!" she said throwing her arm out, "Sorry but I'm not interested in you three!" Playmaker said as he ran at Blue Angel, Codebuster seeing this knew what he about to do, "Hey wait! I just want to-" but it was too late as Playmaker had already logged out, shocking the other two. "-talk to you about something..." Codebuster finished.

He gritted his teeth, annoyed, "Thanks a lot you two!" he yelled at the two other Charisma Duelists, "Codebuster!? What did we do?" Go defended, "I only wanted to talk to the guy about something, all you two did was make him leave quicker!" he said back, getting in Go's personal space, the two bashed heads.

"And to make it worse, he lumped me in with you two, thinking I wanted to Duel him as well..." he added, "Well sorry! I just wanted to Duel, what did you want to talk to him about?" Blue Angel asked.

"None of your business!" he spat as he then logged out…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Third Story…**

Having just logged out, Matoyia having been in his computer chair, opened his eyes slowly, then gritted his teeth as the slight pain from his Duel with the knight took affect, "F*ck! That stings..." he swore as he got up, his jacket had been removed from before he went into Link VRAINS.

"Just when I thought I could talk to him about his Deck..." he muttered, gazing at the bottom draw on his desk for some reason, this caused a memory to re-emerge, but he shook his head, not wanting to think of that.

" ***** **sigh** ***** I need a drink..." he said, making his way down stairs, we reaching the bottom stair, Asuka and Aito rushed over to him, "Matoyia! Are you okay!?" Asuka yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders, "Ah! Shoulders! Shoulders!" he warned her, his shoulders flaring up with slight pain.

"Sorry!" she said letting him go, with that he made his way to the refrigarator, opening it to grab a cold drink, which he opened and guzzled its contents down.

"Are you okay?..." Aito asked, "I'm fine…" Matoyia said, not fooling them one bit with his annoyed looked, "What happened?" Asuka asked. "After my Duel, I ran to where Playmaker was Duelling, followed him to where he was after it was over, went to ask him something, then BAM! Go and Blue Angel appear and scare him off..." he said to them.

"Well… it least your alive..." Aito said, "I know… but still I wanted to talk to guy about something..." he said, suddenly his phone rang, it was the Tetris theme, meaning it was someone for Codebuster.

"Hold on..." he said to them as he went to answer, "Hello?" he said with a lower voice, "Codebuster. This is Bishop!" Bishop said on the other side of the call, shocking Matoyia, "Bishop! What are you calling me for, usually you get someone else to call for you..." he said suspicious.

"Normally I would, but after recent events… I've decided to do this personally." Bishop explained, which Matoyia nodded at, it made sense, "Have you been watching Link VRAINS recently?" Bishop asked.

"Well I was just in there for the Scan… speaking of which, why wasn't I told about the Ignis, it would've made my job easier." Matoyia asked, "Sorry, but we were just being safe, after all your technically still an outsider to the company..." Bishop explained.

"Alright… What did want to talk about?" he asked, "First I'd like to thank you for protecting Link VRAINS, we've gotten hold of your gift for us, the Knight that you captured, you'll start getting pay for every knight you bring in from now on..." he said, shocking Matoyia, but then he smiled.

" _That's not bad actually.. that money will help them..._ " he thought looking at the two, who were being quiet for now. "Thank you sir! What else did you want to speak about?" he asked.

"Yes that… Seeing that you were in Link VRAINS when it happened, I'm guessing you know that Playmaker has now acquired the Ignis..." Bishop said, "Yes..." he said slowly, wondering where this was going.

"I'd like to hire you in the capture of the Ignis from Playmaker!" Bishop said, making Matoyia think for a moment.

" _Hire me to capture the Ignis from Playmaker..._ " he thought, "Actually… _if I did take this job, and Duelled him, I could maybe get some answers from him..._ " he added, wanting to ask Playmaker where he got his Cyberse cards from.

" _That and I'm guessing the pay will be huge!_ " he added, "Alright, I except!" he said, "Thank you… I hope to see from you soon!" Bishop said then ended the call.

With that done, Matoyia also put his phone away, "Who was that?" Asuka asked, "You won't believe what I've been hired to do..." he said grinning, he then explained to them who it was and what they wanted.

While he did this, he was currently thinking about what this could do for him, " _I can't be that bad right? I mean what's the worse that could happened?_ " he asked himself.

End of Chapter 1

* * *

 **There we go, the first chapter for the story, sorry its a bit long, but I needed to get some of the it out of the way. Anyways...**

 **OC cards**

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Identity Match**

 **Normal Spell**

Target 1 monster you control, and 1 monster in your Hand with the exact same name, Special Summon that monster. When you have this card and two monsters with the same names in your GY: Banish this card and two other cards with the same name, and if you do, Special Summon 2 monsters with the same name from your Deck.

 **Primal Rage Rex**

 **EARTH [Dinosaur/Link/Effect] ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬇↘

3 Dinosaur-Type monsters.

Once per turn, you can Normal Summon 1 Level 7 or lower Dinosaur-Type monster from your Hand without tributes to a Main Monster Zone this card points to in addition to your actual Normal Summon. Once per turn, tribute 1 monster this card points to, activate 1 of the following effects: 1) Target 1 card your opponent controls, destroy it, but if you do, only this card can declare an attack this turn. 2) This card gains 200 ATK x the Level of the tributed monster until the end of the turn.

 **I noticed that there are no Dinosaur Link Monsters so I made this one…**

 **If you guys are interested, this story, like my other fanfiction, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC V: A New Swing At Things, will also include OCs that you make.**

 **Here's the info you need to PM me…**

 **Name: (In real life for the story)**

 **Pseudonym: (For within Link VRAINS)**

 **Age: between 16 -22**

 **Gender:**

 **Design: Again for both in Den City and Link VRAINS (Note: You can have more than one set of clothing for the real world... in Den City.)**

 **Personality:**

 **Likes and Dislikes:**

 **Background: Nothing too serious, (I'll tell you if it's too serious)**

 **Occupation: Student at Den City High School or if they are older and have a job, full time or part time if they go to school. Or if they are a Charisma Duelist and what rank.**

 **Deck: Can be actual one or OC or a bit of both: Pendulum Monsters allowed (max 6 but up to 2 per different monster), Extra Deck: Link Monsters (This is recommended due to how the new layout and rules work) and or 2 Extra Deck methods (Fusion, Synchro or Xyz)**

 **Skill: (For Speed Duels...)**

 **Duel Disk for character: (If you read closely you'd realise that Hiroshi has the same type from the ARC V Anime of the Standard Dimension, something I've done to link the story somehow)**

 **Cards not to be used, Decks (or archetypes) used by the current or previous Protagonists, their Rivals or the Antagonists (Minor or Major) I will tell you if you can't or can use a certain Deck when you PM me, just so we can get on the same page.**

 **There will be eight slots for OC's, 4 for the Knights of Hanoi (1 has already been filled by And then the Sky's character) and 4 for whatever you want… (Again, 1 of these has gone already, to I0-Hopeful Hear Dragon)**

 **Another note, you can make minor OCs for family or friends and stuff to go with your main OC, but you can only submit one main OC once, so no making more than 1 main OC.**

 **That's about all that I can think off at the moment, so again if you're interested, PM me with this info for your character. See ya!**


	2. Chapter: The Weirdware Debut

**Hey guys, welcome to the second chapter of my new story, this chapter will showcase Matoyia/Codebuster old/new deck… Along with Ares's deck too. Anyways… enjoy!**

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts_ "

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base (an hour after Playmaker's Duel)**

"Well that could off gone better..." Ares muttered as he was standing around with Revolver and Spectre, "True but at least the Ignis didn't fall into the hands of SOL Technologies." Spectre said,

"Yes, as that would've led to the Cyberse returning..." Revolver said.

"But now we need to figure out who Playmaker is in the real world! But that won't take too long." he added.

"Honestly, why didn't you catch the Ignis, you may have been able to beat Playmaker too Ares!" a female voice said, this made the three look to see the new person as they teleported in.

This person was a woman of 22, her hair was a bright bubblegum pink which was slightly spiked at the top, it was in a braided ponytail that fell over her left shoulder, one of the braids in the ponytail was cherry red. Her skin was fair, her eyes were covered with a visor, with a line going across it to show thats where she saw out of it.

For clothing she wore a white jumpsuit like the others, but it had no sleeves, she wore white arm length gloves that just nearly reached her shoulders, going down the middle of her chest to her hips was a thick black Y, within this Y was some neon purple lining that glowed. She wore a small high cape that covered her shoulders and some of her chest. Her Duel Disk was the newest version, the frame was cherry red with touched a violet, the gem was topaz.

"Valcry! Glad you could join us!" Revolver said, This woman was Valcry, joint third in command with Ares, "Thank you Master Revolver..." she said nicely then turned to Ares, "You never answered me! Why didn't you interfere?" she demanded annoyed.

Ares just glared back at her, "I thought the grunts would be all that was needed, besides… I needed to watch over my virus!" he retorted, "Speaking of which due to your virus, Link VRAINS's security seems to be running low..." Spectre added.

"Hmm… we could use this to our advantage, Playmaker would surely try and stop us." Revolver said, "But not tonight, they've suffered enough for now..." he said.

"Anyways as I was saying, figuring out Playmaker's real identity won't take long..." he said, "One: He hates us Knights of Hanoi." he said, "Two: There are very few people who possess Cyberse cards." he added. "And three: He'll eventually come to me of his free will… As leader he'll want to take me down, thus thinking that will take us all down." he finished then smirked. "I look forward to the day I crush both him and the Ignis." he said.

"What about Codebuster?" Ares said, "He did manage to defeat a knight as well..." he said, "He's not threat… for now, should he intervene again… crush him!" Revolver ordered, the other three bowed at this. "As you say sir!" they said as they teleported away, presumably logging out. "I suppose I should prepare for our battle..." Revolver as he too logged out.

* * *

 **Den City High School, two days later (9:32 AM)**

"And if we look here, by changing the GC-Content of the dsDNA strand, one can alter the stability of the DNA..." the professor went to say, currently Classroom 1-B was in its Biology lesson, most of the students were taking notes… one however...

"Whoa… there sure are a lot of fake Playmakers about!" Naoki Shima said, as he was currently watch Link VRAINS on his notepad, using the Frog and Pigeon Channel to do so. Next to him was Yusaku, as Naoki sat next to him for some reason, forgetting what Yusaku said to him yesterday, Yusaku wasn't really that bothered with this, mainly because he was having other thoughts.

His main thought was on what happened yesterday, the school was closed yesterday for a Teacher's conference, giving him time to investigate his captive… Who gave himself the name Ai which in a way was short for Eye… This name was suggested by Kusanagi after he insisted on not calling it 'this' all the time, and the AI liked the name, so they'd call it Ai now.

That wasn't important, what they tried to find out from the AI was… which wasn't much except for a memory of Cracking Dragon attacking some place, when they watched it more, something started to happen, so they were forced to shut down the systems to save them.

Yusaku had then felt something, so he rushed outside, and saw a dragon of some kind, with a being standing a top of it, this being was the one that was seen in the memory along with Cracking Dragon.

When they went back inside the truck he asked Ai what they saw, it said that most of its memories had been wiped or damaged along with his remains, or that they were stolen by Hanoi, he asked who that was in the memory, and it told him that was Revolver… The Leader of the Knights of Hanoi!

" _There are three reason, why I must keep this AI..._ " he thought, " _One: Keeping_ _it_ _on me_ _while in Link VRAINS_ _will make me a target for Hanoi, which is good, as I can get rid of them faster._ " he added" _Two: If I can recover the remains, I can find out why Hanoi is after it_ "" _And Three: … Something about it seems familiar..._ " he thought.

"Hmm… Codebuster hasn't been sighted since the Hanoi attack!" Naoki said, saddened, this snapped Yusaku out of his thoughts, "Is that a bad thing?" Yusaku asked, shocking him, "Oh! You were listening!" he whispered back, not wanting to get in trouble.

"Just now anyway, so is it a bad thing that he's not there?" Yusaku asked, not sure why he was talking to Naoki, "No not really, normally he patrols Link VRAINS at this time, but the feed isn't showing him in there..." Naoki said changing channels on his notepad, hoping to see if other channels had sighted him.

"Maybe he's out of Link VRAINS..." Yusaku said slowly losing interest, "Or maybe Hanoi got to him! After all he did defeat that knight, maybe they saw him as a threat and took him out in real life!" Noaki said.

"Mr Shima! Could you please pay attention to the lesson!" the teacher shouted, scaring Naoki, "Sorry Sir!" he yelled while some the students laughed, Yusaku just looked ahead, but then spotted someone.

"Hey… What was you name again?" Yusaku asked Shima, "Shima! Noaki Shima! The teacher just said my last name!" Noaki whispered, "Right… Anyway, who it that?" he said pointing to student down below, this student was a boy with pale garnet hair with light blue mixed in.

"Oh that? That's Aito Haru!..." Noaki said, "He's a freshman like us, and like you, he likes to keep to himself..." he added.

"Aito Haru..." Yusaku said, he would try to remember that, the feeling and aura he got from Aito… was just like him in someway.

With Aito, he appeared to be taking notes, but he wasn't, all he could think about was what happened two nights ago…

* * *

 **Flashback (2 nights ago)**

"Are you really going after Playmaker!?" Asuka yelled in shock, "Gah! Say it don't spray!" Matoyia said, wiping his face a bit, "This is no laughing matter Matoyia! If Playmaker now has this Ignis thing… or whatever you called it, then Hanoi will be after him… and if they see you in the way, they'll-"

"Shh! Shut up!" he spat back pointing at Aito's direction, who was just standing there, a bit sad, "What's wrong sweety!?" she said walking up to him, "Nothing..." he whispered, "Now don't you lie to me mister!" she said slightly scolding him, "Well… It's just that… I don't want to be a burden to Matoyia anymore!" he said, shocking them.

"A Burden!? Where is this coming from?" he asked, "I know the mean reason you became Codebuster was to make money in helping me, but I don't want you to do that anymore… Your probably going to be risking your life doing this contract, but-" Aito said, but Matoyia gently placed his hands on his shoulders stopping him.

"Listen to me Aito, you are not a burden to me in anyway, you're like the little brother that I never had..." Matoyia said with a calm smile, "But-" Aito went to say, "No buts!..." Matoyia said as he let him go then walked off.

"Yes its true that I took the name of Codebuster and the professions of Bounty Hunter and Charisma Duelist to help make money to help you..." he said, "But I don't mind, so long as you can get better and someday stand and walk on your own feet..." he added.

"But I can already stand and walk on my own two feet!" Aito said innocently, making Matoyia fall over, "Not in that sense!" he said getting back up, "I mean that you can get over your past, and look towards a good future..." he said.

"And if… When you finally do get back to normal… more or less..." he said slyly looking to the left, "What ever money is left over, can go into a trip for the three of us!" he said smiling, "Think of it. The three of us travelling the world, like your sister said you'd like to do when you were younger!" he said.

"How does that sound to you?" he asked grinning at Aito…

* * *

 **Flashback end**

" _That would be nice… just the three of us..._ " he thought smiling slightly, just picturing all they could do… as a family. " _But first I need to get better..._ " he thought, " _If he's going to risk his life for this contract, then I need to put in the effort of getting better!_ " he added, determined.

Yusaku seeing this, was confused, " _He sure perked up slightly_ " he thought as he felt Aito's aura shifted slightly, " _Wonder what brought that about… Oh well..._ " he thought, giving up, he didn't have time for that, he needed to think of the mission first.

His mind however, wander onto Codebuster, " _Kusanagi said that he was a bounty hunter, that work_ _s_ _for SOL Technologies… meaning they may hire him to take back the AI._ " he thought, remembering what his friend… wait friend?… had told him about the guy. " _What does he fight for, what drives him?_ " he questioned

He then looked out the window into the sky, " _I wonder what he doing right this second… probably planning on how to take me down_ " he thought…

* * *

 **Café Haru, third story, Matoyia's Room...**

"ZzZzZzZzZzZz..." snoring could be heard from Matoyia… as his rested his face on his keyboard, drooling slightly having pulled an all nighter, just to think of way to find and Duel Playmaker for the AI… "Hmm… no!" he said in his sleep, "Leave… the doughnuts alone!" he said.

He shifted slightly, his elbow, which he was resting on gradually making its way off the counter, then suddenly it fell, making him hit his head on the counter, waking him up in pain, then falling off his chair onto the floor…

"Oww..." he muttered, getting up, he rubbed his eyes, getting the sleep out of them, when he opened them fully the first thing he did was check the time. "Hmm… 15 to 10..." he said then yawned.

"God, I must've pulled an all nighter..." he said as he stretched his limbs, when he lifted his arms… " ***Sniff, Sniff*** Gah! I stink!" he said disgusted, "Time for a shower." he said, after getting his things, and a new set of clothes, he made his way to the bathroom.

When he got there, he turned on the water, waited for it to warm up, he undressed and got in, as he washed in himself, he reminded himself on what he learned from his all nighter and the day before that.

" _Let's see, from what my drone recorded, Playmaker makes use of Cyberse cards..._ " he thought thinking to back then- " _Nevermind that!_ " he said shaking his head, " _For Dueling, he seems to start off slow, then watch his opponent closely..._ " he thought, making him believe that Playmaker analyses the opponent, then would start his come back or try and keep himself in the lead with a combo.

" _Just from that Duel alone, he set up his field to gather the_ _Link M_ _aterial in order to Link Summon._ " he added, " _His Skill Storm Access w_ _ill_ _give him any random_ _Link Monster_ _card that will help in a situation, so I'll need to make sure that I can lock him down, and make sure he has no monsters to Link Summon with, then finish him off._ " he added, he knew of the Skill, as the drone had recorded a play by play of the Duel itself, keeping track of every single thing, which came in handy for when he needed to take someone down fast and effectively.

" _That…_ _or keep him away from a Data Storm,_ _s_ _o_ _I_ _'ll try and keep to a Master Duel..._ " he said, as during his research between yesterday and last night, he had learned all about Speed Duels, which didn't take long, so he looked up known Skills for the most time.

" _Storm Access… Not a very known Skill, either it's extremely_ _rare_ _, but the chances of Playmaker having it naturally is pretty low, so I'm guessing the Ignis must have created it for him._ " he concluded.

" _If It does come to a Speed Duel, I'll need to make sure I can pilot the D-Board I got._ " he added, as to help him in his mission, Bishop had been kind enough to lend him a D-Board Prototype yesterday. When he wasn't researching, he was practising how to pilot the Board, so far he was doing alright… but just because it was a simulation, he wasn't sure how well he'd do in an actual Speed Duel.

10 minutes later, he turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and dried himself, then he put on his new clothes, which was a simple red shirt and cotton grey trousers… He of course was wearing underwear.

He then went back to his room, where he continued to dry his hair. " _Based on all that I've_ _u_ _ncovered… I don't think my deck is fit to take down Playmaker!_ " he muttered to himself, "I'd probably have better luck finding him in the real world." he said as he placed his towel in his basket, he'd take it down later for when he did the laundry this time.

He then say down his bed, wandering what he was going to do… But then something hit him… not literally, a thought! " _Well..._ " he thought, then slowly looked over to his desk… to gaze at the bottom draw. " _Should I?..._ " he asked himself, as he got up and made his way over to his desk.

He opened the bottom draw, which contained random bits and bobs, but within this clutter was a metal case… for Duel Monster Cards, he took it out and made his way back to his bed.

"Should I really use this Deck again?..." he muttered to himself, this course a memory to a flash before his eyes… And this time he went it happen…

* * *

 **Flashback, Den City Hospital (8 years ago)**

"Happy Birthday sweety!" A woman said from a hospital bed, she was a woman of 35, had long pale blonde hair that reached her back, her eyes were a light blue and her skin was pale, as she was a patient in the hospital, she was a wearing a hospital gown. This was Jun Guriddo, Matoyia's mother… suffering from a Chronic Disease. Which she thanked that Matoyia had not caught and would not suffer.

Speaking of Matoyia, he was there by her side on a seat, at this time he was 11, he was smaller than what he was now, was wearing a green hoodie, and black trousers. "You didn't need to get me a gift mummy..." young Matoyia said as she placed a small wrapped box in his hands, he was a bit sad again that she had to once again come back to the hospital.

She slightly chuckled at this, "Of course I did. It's not everyday that a young man turns 11!" she said, "Go on. Open it!" she gestured, with her saying this, he slowly but surely unwrapped his gift, which was a Case holder for Duel Monster cards.

He then opened the case, which contains all sorts of cards in it all of which when he went through were mostly similar and helped one another, upon finishing going through the Deck, he was shocked and happy at the same time, "A new Deck!?" he said smiling at his mother, "Yes! I put it together myself… I know I'm not 'hip' with the younger generation..." she said as this made Matoyia pout.

"But I do know that you love Dueling, and these cards are a new type they say… so I ordered what I thought you'd like and put it together myself..." she finished. "Thank you mommy!" he said hugging her gently, she too hugged him back.

"Your welcome sweety… just promise to take good care of it…" she said as she slowly cried, "Even if I'm gone..." she muttered, "But I don't want you to go, I want you to stay-" Matoyia said as he too cried.

"Shhh..." she hushed him, "I'll be okay… Even if i'm gone, I'll always be with you..." she said as Matoyia sat up still crying, "Right here..." she said touching his chest, right where his heart was. She then put both her hands over his new Deck, "And in here..." she added with a warm smile as her face.

"Promise..." Matoyia asked as he sniffed, "Promise..." she said back…

* * *

 **Flashback end**

2 Weeks later after that… She had passed on, her illness finally taking her, as she was a single parent, he was sent to an orphanage, where he eventually after moving from orphanage to orphanage, due to problems with other kids, finally met Asuka and Aito…

But that was a time for another place and time, right now Matoyia was going through his old deck, nothing had been changed about it since the last time he'd used it… which was about 5 years ago. Reasons being that cards, similar to his Deck were slowly vanishing. Fearing that his may soon fall like the others, he managed to save the data for them in their cards, and hid is Deck, thus saving the precious gift he got from his mother.

"These cards… are just perfect for taking down Playmaker..." he said going through them, while a tear fell from his face, remembering his mother. "And it should be safe now to bring them back out..." he said as he finished going through the Deck, he put it back together, and made his way over to his computer.

He sat down, located a machine from underneath, plugged it in, the device itself was a small grey box, that had a small slot for a Deck of cards to fit in. With this plugged in, a program appeared on his screen, which he opened.

"Would you like to install a new Deck?" he read from the program, he then fitted the Deck into slot, then clicked the yes button on the screen, "Are you sure..." he read, this then got him thinking, it would be a waste to use this new… old Deck and leave his Cyber Dragon Deck in the dust…

"Unless..." he said as he grabbed his Duel Disk, plugged in in from another location, this made another program appear, this was for his Duel Disk data and functions, and what else the Duel Disk needed to work the way it did… and he started to rewrite some of this, mainly the limit of the Deck use, normally you only have 1 Deck saved in the Cloud at a time, he had his own personal Cloud, like many others, and was currently modifying it to allow for 2 Decks to be saved in it.

This took him about an hour, "And done!" he said typing in the final part of the code he was altering. He then closed the program down and returned to the one he was about to use before, with his Duel Disk now plugged in, he clicked yes.

"Thank you for clicking yes, your new Deck is downloading and while take up to 3 Hours!" he yelled, that's what he got for using an outdated method of installing a Deck.

" ***Sigh*** I guess I'll go get something to eat..." he said as he made his way to the kitchen…

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, Meeting Room (13:12 PM)**

"Was it a good idea to hire Codebuster for this important task?" Knight asked Bishop as three Chess Pieces, a Knight, a Bishop and a Rook were placed near each other, "I agree with Knight, why bring in Codebuster? He is after all, an outsider..." Rook said.

"Yes, and while I agree with you two that he is an outsider, he is known for his good success rate… 90%, quite good for most Bounty Hunters of his status." Bishop said and explained, "Fine, If he gets results done for us, I suppose its alright..." Rook said reluctantly.

"And you Knight?" Bishop asked, "I'll yield for now… But we may have to discuss this with Queen and King should a problem arise later on..." Knight said. After this Knight and Rook faded, leaving Bishop alone.

"Hmm… Was it really a good idea getting Codebuster involved?..." he said to himself, then faded like the others.

* * *

 **Café Haru… (same time)**

Behind the counter was Asuka having just taken an order, "Right that will be ready in 30 minutes, please take a seat!" she said as the customer walked off and took a seat. " ***Sigh*** _Where is Matoyia? He should be down here already..._ " she thought.

She then turned around and gave the order to the chef, "Here you go Raymond!" she said, "Thanks!" he said, Raymond was a slightly overweight chef that was balding at the top of his head, wearing an apron with the Cafe's logo on it, that also had a slight grease stain at the bottom, His culinary skill in the kitchen was what made Asuka hire him, as he had travelled the world to acquire original recipes from other continents.

"Gotcha boss!" he said getting back to cooking the other meals that were ordered, "Thank you..." she said then looked back to face the front, " _He's either sleeping, which makes since, as he did pull an all nighter… or hes up and researching Playmaker._ " she thought.

Sometimes, he wished he'd stop thinking about his contracts some much and just be a normal young adult like others…, I mean sure he did take some time off, when he wasn't on a contract for someone, but it stressed her out slightly when he cooped himself up. But then she remembered what he said two nights, about taking a trip with Aito and her.

She smiled at that thought, as Aito had always wanted to travel the world, wanting to go to Neo Domino City, home to something called Riding Duels… or something like that. They could go to Heartland City, and have fun at the famous amusement parks they had there. And then there was Duel Academy… okay maybe not that last one for Aito, but still just travelling the world would make Aito's dream come true.

"Asuka?… Asuka?..." a man said standing in front of the counter while she daydreamed, "ASUKA!" the man shouted, "Who!? What!? Where!?" she said snapping out of it, "Finally, didn't think you were that gone." the man said.

This man stood at 6'3 ft, his skin was fair, his hair was spiked and mostly black with some on his hair hanging over his right eye with red highlights at the tips of his spikes, his eyes were golden in colour. His clothing was a dark grey business suit with a red tie, he wore black dress shoes.

"Oh Mars! Sorry about..." she said with a nervous giggle, this man was Mars, Mars Volturnus, he was 19 and worked at SOL Technologies, and he was a regular customer at the Cafe. "That's alright, we all have our moments..." he said.

"Right anyways, what would you like? Your regular?" she asked, "Yes! Your finest Eclairs please!" he said, "Coming right up!" she said as she made her way to the pastry section of the counter, while this happened, Mars got out the money needed to pay.

"Where's Matoyia? Sleeping in?" he asked smirking having known Matoyia for a while, considering him a friend. "Yeah… he pulled an nighter..." she muttered, "My, my, I didn't know you two were that close..." he teased smiling, "Shut up! You know he like my brother!" she retorted with a blush, not a fan of being teased… she loved teasing others though.

"Here you go!" she said coming back with a cardboard box with 4 Eclairs in it, "Thanks..." he said giving her the money, "So… on break?" she asked, "No, I had to finish early today, I need to do something at home." he said picking the box up.

"Really like what? Getting ready for a dinner party?" she asked, "Close..." he said, "See ya! Tell Matoyia I said hi!" he said as he made his way outside, heading home. "Bye!" she said, with that she went back to work properly.

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza, (16:56 PM)**

With School now over, Yusaku was now outside of Café Nagi, eating a hotdog, "Seriously, Why can't I come out of the bag!" Ai said from Yusaku's school bag, "I want to see what makes being in this area so interesting!" it whined, "Quiet! Or I'll mute you." Yusaku said, thinking maybe he should leave the Duel Disk/Prisoner for Ai at home with Roboppy.

"Fine..." it said, "Maybe you should be nice to him Yusaku, after all he has lost his memories." Shoichi said flipping some hot dogs around, "Please don't call 'it' he, it's an AI, it not like you and me..." Yusaku said.

"But I am!" Ai said from the bag, which Yusaku kicked slightly, "Ow!" it cried out, "Quiet..." Yusaku warned. As a couple walked past, not noticing a thing, which was good. "That's it, I'm leaving you at home tomorrow." Yusaku said as he took the Duel Disk out of his bag.

"But I want to see-" it said but Yusaku had then put in on mute, "There..." he said placing the Duel Disk down near him, then got his notepad out, "Whatcha doing?" Shoichi asked, "Looking up on Codebuster." he said back as he started to look up info.

"I thought you said you weren't going to Duel him." Shoichi retorted, "I'm not, but if I know what Deck he uses, should I come to Duel him, I can get it done with fast, then he should give up… That's if he's been hired by SOL Technology that is..." he said.

"Well from what I know of him, he uses a Cyber Dragon Deck, that seems to have Fusion, Xyz, and Link Summoning incorperated into it." Shoichi said.

"Fusion? Xyz?" Ai said, "Thought I muted you!" Yusaku said annoyed, "Nope! Didn't do it properly so i faked it!…" it said, "So what is Fusion and Xyz Summoning?" it said and asked.

"Ah! Your a relatively new AI, so you don't know about the Summoning methods that came before Link Summoning..." Shoichi said, "Fusion Summoning is when you send monsters in your hand or from your field to the Graveyard, a Spell is usually used to send them there..." Yusaku said, having been taught this in Duelling History at High School a while back. "This allows one to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck..." he added.

"Then there is Synchro Summoning, where a Tuner monster, a type of monster and non tuner monsters on the field are sent to the Graveyard to Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck!" Shoichi said, having had the same lesson Yusaku did when he went to Den City High School.

"Then Xyz Summoning, where you take two or more monsters with the Level and Overlay them, this brings out an Xyz Monster, which has a Rank equal to the Level of the monsters used, the monsters that are used to Summon the Xyz Monster are placed under the Summoning monster as Xyz Material, or as people call them Overlay Units." Shoichi added.

"And then Pendulum Summoning, where one can Special Summon as many monster from your Hand or Extra Deck, if said monster is a Pendulum Monster which exist in the Hand first, but in order to do any of that, you must place 2 Pendulum Monsters in your Hand in the Pendulum Zone, to create the Pendulum Scale..." Yusaku said.

"With the Pendulum Scale, you can only Pendulum Summon monsters whose Levels are within the Pendulum Scale's Scale!" Shoichi said, "There were said to be Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monsters that were also Pendulum Monsters… there was also said to be Ritual Pendulum monsters too." he added.

"Wow! They sound powerful if they come from the Extra Deck! But why haven't I heard of them before..." Ai asked, "Mostly because people nowadays consider them outdated, what with the Master Duels Ruling that generally only now 1 monster from the Extra Deck can be summoned to the Extra Monster Zone." Yusaku explained.

"There use to be a time where one could freely Special Summon from the Extra Deck, I think two people were able to Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum summon in one turn, though I can't remember there names..." Shoichi said, trying to think of the names, "Yuja Wasabi?..." he muttered.

"You were saying." Yusaku said to Shoichi, "Right, Codebuster uses Cyber Dragons, an old Deck from long ago, over time and certain generations later, it was upgraded to fit into that generation, the latest being Link Summoning." he said.

"Hmm, I wonder if the Data Storm could give you these kinds of monsters..." Ai thought, "Won't know until I need to use my Skill won't I." Yusaku said…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story… (same time)**

"I'm home!" Aito said as he placed his shoes neatly by the door and put his slippers on, "Hey!" Matoyia said having just finished putting the laundry up to dry, "Why are you still up here? Shouldn't you be downstairs helping Onee-san?..." Aito asked.

"I did go down early to try and help, but she shooed me away, so I'm doing chores around the house." he explained, "Who was your day?" he asked, "Fine, what about you?" Aito asked back, Matoyia went quiet for a bit, thinking of what to say.

"It was alright, didn't get much on Playmaker, but I think I know how to be an even match to him in a Duel..." he finally said, "Really... How?" Aito asked, "Ah! Ah! Ah! That's a surprise!" he said grinning at the young boy. "You got homework? Do some of it before tea, and I may show you it!" he said, "Alright..." Aito said walking into his room.

"Right, what to make for tea..." Matoyia said as he went to the kitchen to start the meal…

* * *

 **The Knight of Hanoi's base, (18:56)**

Just teleporting back in was Ares, "Ares, glad you could join us!" Spectre said, "Great..." Valcry said scoffing, "Glad your here too..." Mars said rolling his eyes. "I've called you two here, because I want you two to lead an attack to get Playmaker out!" Revolver said.

"Both of us?!" the two said, then glared at one another, "Yes! It would be good for the two of you to get along in someway." Spectre said, smiling at their misery. "Revolver can't I-" Valcry went to say but the glare from said person silenced her.

"No exceptions, now you can either work together, or we can forget this attack, and you two can Duel me…" he said as a shiver ran down their spines. "I need the pratice for when I face Playmaker!" he added smirking at their reactions.

"Very well..." Valcry said reluctantly with a bow, "Fine..." Ares growled out, "Good, take 3 Grunts with you, let them tire Playmaker out, when he's tired out… Take care of him." Revolver said…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS… (10 minutes later)**

Since the past two days from the attack of Hanoi, the place was being tidied up… but the reconstruction and uploading of saved data for some of the building was a tad slow, as most of the time was used to mostly help restore the security to optimal efficiency.

Most of time during this brief moment of peace was used by the public trying to ride the new Data Storm streams, of course any person caught doing this had their accounts suspended for a while.

"This looks like a good spot to land boss!" a pigeon… yes a pigeon with a camera fitted to his head said as he landed his load… which happened to be an anthropomorphic frog with yellow, red slitted eyes and a tadpole on his head, just between his eyes, in one hand he held a microphone.

These two were… Pigeon and Frog, two reporters for Den City's TV Studio…Why they picked animals for their Avatars is unknown.

"Hmm..." Frog hummed, not in a good mood, yesterday all that had shown up were fake Playmaker, and as well as them not seeing Codebuster on his morning Patrol… same with today.

"Whatcha thinking off Yamamoto?" Pigeon asked perched on the tadpole, "Don't call me by my real name!" Frog yelled flailing his arms about. "Sorry boss!" Pigeon said.

"Anyways, we need to find a good scoop, something that the editors and the public will take an interest in..." Frog muttered, "Boss…" Pigeon said, staring ahead. Frog ignored this as he was deep in thought on what they could cover.

"Boss!..." Pigeon said again… again no response, "BOSS!" Pigeon yelled, "WHAT!" Frog shouted annoyed with his partner, "Look out!" Pigeon cried out, holding out a wing to point at something, this made Frog look ahead… to see three Cracking Dragons with Knights of Hanoi riding on top of them heading their way.

"Wahhhhhh!" Frog cried out in fear, he quickly jumped down, avoiding the middle dragon as its wing clipped the top of the rooftop. "Wait! Why did I have to dodge? Your the one who can fly!" Frog yelled, "Oh right..." Pigeon said, he then flapped his wings to get airborne.

"The Knights of Hanoi are back!" Pigeon cried, "This is bad… Playmaker and Codebuster are no where to be seen, and the security is still down..." Frog muttered to himself, wandering what was going to happen to potential scoops.

"Wait a minute boss, if we start recording this, they may see this and come to save us!" Pigeon said, "Oh! Good idea! Start rolling, and make sure its the emergency channel!" Frog ordered, "Right boss!" Pigeon said as he started to film.

From the rooftop in the distance, Valcry and Ares were watching these events unfold, "Clever use of using the media to get them to show up..." Ares muttered, "Thanks..." was all she said, "Now we just wait for Playmaker to fall for our trap." she added.

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza (same time)**

Upon the new screens that were put in yesterday, which were showing commercials and news channels, suddenly changed to showcase what was happening within Link VRAINS. "Ah! Hanoi is attacking again!" Ai yelled, "Yusaku!" Shoichi said as he started to shut down for a while.

"Right!" Yusaku said as he ran into the truck and made his way into the chamber, "Deck Set!" he said, placing his Deck into his Duel Disk, "Into the VRAINS!" he shouted.

* * *

Within the living room watching TV after having a lovely meal of home made ramen, the TV Channel changed to the emergency channel, where it showed the Knights of Hanoi attacking, this Made Matoyia get up and rush to his room, "You guys ready for my surprise!" he said as the doorway leading to upstairs, "Yeah!" Aito said, "What surprise!?" Asuka asked.

"You're about to find out!" was all he said going up the stair, he made it to his room, unplugged his Duel Disk when he reached his Desk, sat down in his chair, and slipped on the Duel Disk. "Into the VRAINS!" he declared as the sphere enveloped him, " _I hope this Deck will be of help..._ " he thought as he closed his eyes.

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

"Vanish!" a knight said as his Cracking Dragon breathed digital fire all around, his comrades had been ordered back by Ares, for the plan to trap Playmaker in a never ending Duelling streak where the three would Duel him one by one, and tire him out… that and they'd learn more about his Deck, which would be helpful to Revolver.

"Knight of Hanoi!" Playmaker yelled, " _Right on que..._ " the knight thought smirking, he turned his dragon to face Playmaker as he jumped off his D-Board and landed on a rooftop. "Playmaker! Your end begins here!" the knight jumping off his Cracking Dragon and met Playmaker on an equal level.

Meanwhile back with Ares and Valcry, the other two knights had joined them, the two were smirking almost excited for their chance to try and take down Playmaker before their higher ups got a shot.

"All according to plan..." Valcry said smirking, this would go off without a hitch.

Back with Playmaker, "Let's get this over with..." he said, arming his Duel Disk, wanting do a Master Duel.

"Oh! Rushing to your demise? How good of-" the knight said, but then beam hit the knight in the back, shocking Playmaker, Frog, Pigeon, Valcry, Ares and the audience watching. "What happened!?" Ai yelled.

The knight glowed orange a bit before returning to normal, "What happened!?" he asked, "I happened!" a voice said from behind, this made them all look behind the knight to see-

"It's Codebuster!/the shooter!" Pigeon and Ai yelled in that order, "Oi! Watch where your flying!" Frog said as they nearly hit a building, "Sorry boss!" Pigeon said back.

Within Hanoi's base Revolver and Spectre along with another knight were watching this take place, "Codebuster, why has he interfered?..." Revolver said to himself.

"What did you do!?" the knight yelled at Codebuster, "Just shot you with a data bullet, a creation of my design, it's purpose… to keep either of us from logging out! Or dueling anyone else until we've Duelled!" Codebuster said smirking at the knights reaction of shock.

"Hey Playmaker!" Codebuster said looking over at him, "Why are you interfering?" Playmaker asked, wondering what was going through his potential enemies head.

"Duh? Protecting Link VRAINS!" Codebuster said, "So what's it going to be? Stay here until your body starves or Duel me and try and win!" he said smirking, the knight gritted his teeth at his confidence.

"Cocky bastard!" the knight swore, "Oh! Such language!" Ai said, "Quiet!" Playmaker said, "Fine! I'll Duel, but I want to Speed Duel!" the knight said, "Fine with me..." Codebuster said as the two made their way to the edge of the building.

"Oh Playmaker..." Codebuster said facing away from him, "What?" he said, thinking he knew what he going to say, "Stay right there, I want to talk to you after this!" he said shocking Playmaker, who thought he wanted to Duel him. "That and I want to Duel you for the AI!" he said, there it was!

The two then jumped off the building, below then was a Data Storm stream, coming from the left were their D-Boards. One for the Knight which similar to the one that was used by his fellow knight before.

The other which was for Codebuster, was a hexagonal board, the outer rim was a brass colour, while the inner part appeared to look like a leaf design, each part of this 'leaf' was a metallic grey, the stem for this 'leaf' was back. The back part of the board was a hexagon with the same colours as the front, but it didn't have the 'leaf', it just had a smaller black frame hexagon there. Underneath was the thruster for the board and on either side were wing panels similar to the front of the board, but on their side.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted drawing 4 cards each.

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

Knight of Hanoi's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Do you think Codebuster can win Playmaker-sama?" Ai asked, "Maybe, if he can beat a knight with his Cyber Dragon Deck, he could win this… But as a Speed Duel… not sure." he said what he believed to be true.

"I'll take the first turn!" Codebuster said, "I now activate the Continuous Spell, Weirdware Uploading!" he said as the card appeared on the field, "Hmm!? Weirdware!?" Ai said confused, "Never heard of it. You!?" Pigeon asked Frog.

"Don't ask me questions! Get me closer to the Duel!" Frog snapped, "This could be a good scoop. Right up their with an interview with Playmaker." he added, "Right sorry boss!" Pigeon cried taking after the Duelist, "Those two are weird..." Ai commented.

"I can activate this Spell when I control no monsters!" Codebuster said, "Now when I control no monsters or only Weirdware monsters, I can add 1 Weirdware monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he said as the ring of his Deck appeared and the screen appeared in front of him for his selection.

"I'll add Weirdware Downloader!" he said tapping the monster on the screen, this ejected the card from his Deck, which he added to his Hand. "And then I Normal Summon it!" he said.

This caused a cybernetic monster to appeared, it had no face, but a screen that lit up with a single blue light that looked around its surrounding. For arms they were metallic thickish segments of three pieces. The elbow to wrist was covered in a dark blue shiny smooth armour, it hands had a ring on the palm for fingers they were claws. Its chest was bulky, it shot outward slight with a point, near this were two small appendage like hands, but there were plugs on them. From the waist it was small, their were armour plated pelvis, it's legs were similar to the arms, but there were two knees, one forward, then going back, its toes were the same as its claws. On its back was a curved backpack with an antennae , it's armoured head was elongated slightly. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Downloader: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"It's a Cyberse monster!" Ai shouted in shock, wondering where he had gotten it from.

"Matoyia had Cyberse Monsters!?" Aito and Asuka asked in shocked as they watched from their TV.

"Well this is an interesting development..." Revolver said, "Yes, but let's see what this Weirdware is capable of..." Spectre added as they continued to watch the screen from their base.

"When Downloader is Normal Summoned, Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster from my Hand!" he said, "I now Special Summon Weirdware Ventilator!" he said, this caused a smaller but similar monster to Downloader to appear, but it was light green in colour, and its eye was yellow and it had a wire like tail, at the end of this tail a fan fitted into a ring for the fan. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Ventilator: WIND, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1000 **DEF/1200**

"2 monsters..." the knight said, knowing what was coming, having learned from his old comrade's mistake against Playmaker.

"Appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" Codebuster shouted as he held his hand in the air, causing sparks to shoot out of it and cause the Link Portal to appear in front of him from above.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is one Level 3 or lower Weirdware monster!" he said, "I now set Ventilator in the Link Marker!" he said as Ventilator turned into an beam of energy and flew and hit the bottom Link Marker, turning it red, causing the portal to glow.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 1! Weirdware Plug-Charge!" he shouted, appearing from the Link Portal was a new monster, it was a similar build to the other two it was in between them in size and it was bright yellow, it's arms at the elbow to wrist were segmented armour pieces, like that of scales from a dragon, there was also a fuse on each wrist that was just short of the elbow and they were glowed a light blue. It had no legs, but did have two stubs that it used to stay afloat. It had a tail and at the end of it a plug that had two tongs. For a head, it appeared to be rounded and sort of like a light bulb, the screw in part pointed forward, while a black glass screen was placed at the end of the screw part. It was placed in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's right, linked to Downloader.

 **Weirdware Plug-Charge: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/400 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"A Link 1 Monster..." Playmaker said wondering what the monster could do… for research reasons of course, not because he was interested in the new Deck.

"I've never heard of this archetype before..." Valcry said annoyed at what was taking place.

"Plug-Charge's effect!" Codebuster said as the Link Marker pointing to Downloader blinked, Plug Charge's tail then plugged itself into Downloader. "It gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the monster it points to!" he explained, Plug-Charge's ATK: **400 + 1600 = 2000**.

"A Link 1 with 2000 ATK!?" the knight yelled in shock, this made Codebuster smirked, "Wrong! Now Downloader's effect!" he said as the appendage things on Downloader hooked themselves into the tail. "Since it's linked to a Link Monster, all Weirdware monsters I control gains 100 ATK for every one of the field!" he said, this further shocked the knight. **2000 + 200 = 2200**. (Plug-Charge), **1600 + 200 = 1800** (Downloader)

"I place a card face-down and end my turn!" he said as the card appeared then faded.

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"Hmm… Your Deck is like Playmakers… A Cyberse Deck..." the knight said smirking, "I look forward to destroying it!" he added, "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card, he then looked at his hand, smirking, " _What_ _a good starting hand..._ " he thought.

"Since you control a Special Summoned monster, I can Normal Summon this card without tributes..." he said waving his hand over the card, "Appear! Scrambling Hydra!" he said as a monster similar to Cracking Dragon, but it was thinner, and it had two heads, that were attached to long necks.

 **Scrambling Hydra: Level: 7, Machine, Effect, DARK, ATK/DEF: 2400/** 600

"It's stronger than both his monsters!" Ai shouted, "I now activate it's effect! By sending 1 random DARK Machine-Type monster from my Deck to my Graveyard..." he said as a card ejected itself from his Deck, which as he sent it there he looked at it and smirked. " _What luck..._ " he thought.

"This then allows me to target a card you control, and destroy it!" he said, shocking the audience, "I target Downloader!" he said as one of the Hydra's head opened, charging dark blue electricity at its mark.

"If Downloader goes, then he'll attack the weakened Plug-Charge and deal major damage!" Pigeon yelled, "Quiet! Just keep rolling!" Frog shouted.

"Nice try! But Plug-Charge's effect activates!" Codebuster said, "When it or the monster it points to is the target of an effect you activate, I can negate that effect!" he said as an electric field enveloped Downloader, when the beam from the hydra hit it, it was absorbed.

"Damn it!" the knight swore, "Normally when this effect is used, I can then destroy one set card on your field, but you don't have any..." Codebuster added.

"Fine! I now set two cards..." the knight said, as two card appeared face-down then faded, "Then I activate the Equip-Spell Air Crack Storm!" he said as the missile attachments appeared on Hydra. "I assume you know what this does..." the knight asked.

"Yes! If the equipped monster, which must be a Machine-Type, destroys a monster by battle, it can attack again!" Codebuster said for him.

"Very good, you know your stuff, makes it easier when you can't do anything to stop it!" the knight said, "Battle! Scrambling Hydra attacks Downloader!" he said as the Hydra charged both of it mouths.

"Scrambling Break!" he shouted as the hydra released it beams, "This is bad! When Downloader is destroyed, Hydra will attack again and destroy Plug-Charge, dealing 2600 damage!" Ai shouted, but Playmaker noticed that Codebuster was calm.

"Why aren't you rushing in to help him?!" it said, "Quiet! And just watch..." he said and so it did, when the beams hit Downloader it caused an explosion. Codebuster's LP: **4000 – 12** **00 = 2800**.

"Ha! You should've let Playmaker Duel instead, now due to Air Crack Storm's effect, Hydra can now-" the knight said but stopped when the smoke cleared and Downloader was still there.

"But how!? It should've been destroyed!" he shouted in shock, "I activated the Trap, Link Safeguard!" Codebuster said as a card appeared, it showed a picture of a Link Monster and a monster linked to it, there was a beam attack flying overhead to hit the linked monster, but a shield blocked the attack from reaching.

"I can activate this card when I control a monster linked to a Link Monster..." he explained, "This card equips itself onto that monster, and now that monster can no longer be destroyed by battle of card effects!" he added.

" _So that's why he was calm, he knew that he'd survive..._ " Playmaker thought, "I end my turn..." the knight reluctantly said.

Knight of Hanoi's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

* * *

As the two soared through Link VRAINS, people were now chatting about Codebuster's new Deck, some were wondering where he got it from, some thought he was trying to copy Playmaker, and some hated it.

Within an apartment, which was home to Yui Funai, she was excited while watching the Duel, "Codebuster just got even more awesome!" she said, "I'm going in there!" she said throwing her tablet to the side of the sofa, "Into the VRAINS!" she shouted.

* * *

Within another apartment that was more luxurious, sat a girl with a bob-hair cut that was light brown, and still in her school uniform, which was like the boys, but it had a short skirt, a light yellow jumper underneath her jacket and a heart shape clip on her tie.

This was Aoi Zaizen, 16 years old and freshman in Den City High School, currently she was watching the event within Link VRAINS, eyeing Codebuster, "Why does he have a similar Deck to Playmaker?" she said quietly.

* * *

Within a warehouse near the port, was a gym, that Go Onizuka was standing within a ring, punching a punching bag as he watched the events to, "Why is he upstaging me now!" he yelled in frustration… as he punched the bag to pieces.

* * *

Back within Link VRAINS, "Time to take this up a notch!" Codebuster said, "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card, "I now Normal Summoned Weirdware Trade-in!" he said, as this caused a monster similar to Downloader appear, but it was brown in colour and the eye was purple, on its back was a crate of some sorts. It was summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Trade-in: EARTH, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 + 300 =** **1700 DEF/** 800

"I now activate it's effect!" he said, "I can tribute it or one other Weirdware monster I control with a Level… I choose Downloader!" he said as Downloader burst into particles. "Due to it leaving the field Link Safeguard is now banished!" he said. "And then Plug-Charge loses ATK due to Downloader leaving..." he added. **2200 = 400** (Plug-Charge), **1700 = 1400**. (Trade-In)

"Now with Trade-in's effect, I can Special Summon from my Deck 1 Weirdware monster with a Level higher or lower than the tributed monster!" he explained.

A scroll screen appeared and he choose his target, the card ejected itself, "I Summon Weirdware Recycler!" he said as another similar monster to Downloader but taller and thicker appeared, it was red and the lights were light green, on its back was a cylinder container. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Recycler: EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/** 1300

"Appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he said as the sparks that appeared in his hand shoot out, and made the Link Portal appear again, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Weirdware monsters!" he said.

"I now set Trade-in and Recycler in the Link Markers!" he said as the two monster turned into energy beams of their colours and hit the Middle Left and Middle Bottom markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 2! Weirdware Virus Buster!" he said, this made a monster similar to the others appear, but it was teal blue, and right side where and arm should be was a barrel cannon, the inside was tinted in a red energy. On the left side was two arms, one higher than the other. Across its body were transparent tubes filled with red energy. It head had 3 lens with three different size. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Plug-Charge.

 **Weirdware Virus Buster: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"Due to it now being linked to Plug-Charge, Plug-Charge gains ATK equal to Virus Buster!" he said, **400 + 1900 = 2300** (Plug-Charge)"Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth!" he said as the card appeared, it had an image of a monster, crawling out of a dark portal to head to a Link Monster that had a Link Marker pointing to it.

"After I Link Summon a Link Monster, I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Graveyard, to a zone that a Link Monster I control points to!" he explained. "I Summon back Downloader!" he said as the monster appeared again, but now in the Middle Main Monster Zone that Buster pointed to.

"And with it now linked, all Weirdware monster gains 300 ATK!" **1600 + 300 = 1900** (Downloader), **1900 + 300 = 2200** (Virus Buster), **2300 + 300 = 2600** (Plug-Charge)

"Plug-Charge now has more ATK than Hydra!" Pigeon said, "Battle! Plug-Charge attack Scrambling Hydra!" he ordered, "Fatal Shocking!" he said as Plug-Charge, literally charged electric in its palms, then threw it at the Hydra, destroying it. Knight of Hanoi's LP: **4000 – 200 = 3800**.

The knight however smirked, "Thank you for that! As now Hydra's effect activate!" he said shocking them all, "When its destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 1 other DARK Machine-Type monster in my Graveyard!" he said.

"The monster however must have DEF less than Hydra's ATK… But that won't be a problem..." he said smirking. "Does he mean-" Ai said, "Yeah!" Playmaker said.

"Appear! Cracking Dragon!" the knight shouted as the dragon appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone on his side.

 **Cracking Dragon: DARK, Level: 8 [Machine/Effect] ATK/3000 DEF/** 0

"So the monster you sent to the Graveyard with Hydra's effect..." Codebuster started, "Was Cracking Dragon!" the knight finished for him, "I activate Virus Buster's effect! When monsters are Special Summoned to your Main Monster Zones, I can target 1 of them and destroy it!" he said, Buster's cannon glowed as a beam shot out of it.

"Due to Scrambling Hydra's effect! The summoned monster cannot be destroyed!" the knight said as a barrier appeared in front of the monster saving it, "I end my turn…" Codebuster said.

Codebuster's hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"This just got even worse..." Akira said watching from the control room, where the operators were working hard to try and restore the firewalls. "It's time to end this! I now activate my Skill, Double Draw!" the knight said.

"During my Draw phase, I can draw 2 cards instead of just 1!" the said drawing two cards. "And now I activate the Spell, DDoS Attack!" he said, "That's the card the other knight used against Playmaker!" Asuka said from their living area.

"By sending two other DDoS cards from my Deck to the Graveyard..." the knight said sending the other two to the Graveyard, "And then target 1 Machine-Type, I can inflict 100 damage to you times the Level of the target for every card that was sent to the Graveyard!" he said.

"2 were sent, and my target is Cracking Dragon! Meaning 1600 damage is coming right at you!" he shouted as the beam from the spell hit Codebuster in his back, lurching him forward, **2800 – 1600 = 1200** (Codebuster)

"This knight appears to be more skilled that the one you faced Playmaker-sama!" Ai pointed out, "Slightly I'd think." he said.

"Battle! Cracking Dragon attack Downloader!" the knight said, "Traffic Blast!" he said as the dragon released a beam at Downloader, destroying it, **1200 – 1100 = 100** (Codebuster) "Due to Downloader leaving, your monsters lose 300 ATK!" the knight said, **2600 = 2300** (Plug-Charge), **2200 = 1900** (Virus Buster).

"Virus Buster's effect!" Codebuster said, "When a monster linked to it is destroyed, I can deal 500 damage to you!" he said. "Data Burn!" he said as the cannon shot a beam at the knight, pushing him back. **3800 – 500 = 3300**. (KoH)

"I end my turn!" the knight said.

Knight of Hanoi's Hand x 2

 **Turn 5**

" _I need the perfect card to get out of this..._ " Codebuster thought, "My turn..." he said, "I draw!" he shouted drawing his card… He looked at it, "Perfect!" he said, "I activate the Field Spell, Weirdware Restoration Plant!" he said as the card appeared.

The picture it had was a factory, where parts from Weirdware monster were scattered about, on the line of the assembly line, a new Weirdware monster was being put together using the scattered part.

"I can activate this card when I control a Weirdware Link Monster!" he said, "Weirdware Link Monsters gain 500 ATK for every monster they point to!" he said, as Plug-Charge's ATK rose due to being linked to Virus Buster. **2300 = 2800** (Plug-Charge).

"So you powered up your monster? Not enough to get past Cracking Dragon!" the knight said, "Just wait, now for the final time, Appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" Codebuster said as the Link Portal appeared again.

"Arrowheads confirmed!" he said, "The Summoning conditions are two or more Weirdware monsters!" he said, "When using a Link 2 or higher Link Monster as Material, it's rating determines how many monsters its treated as!" he said.

"I now set the Link 1 Plug-Charge and Link 2 Virus Buster in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters turned into energy beams, that flew towards the portal, the one that was Virus Buster split and became two, these two hit the Bottom Left and Middle Bottom while Plug-Charge hit the Middle Top one, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Weirdware Rewire!" he said, this caused data to gather, creating a new monster, it was like Recycler, but its armour was pure black, one of its arms was a thick metallic grey armoured cable, the end of it was pure black with three pins acting as fingers. The other arm, elbow to wrist was flatish, behind the wrist was a cable that connected to the back, where two jet like protrusions were placed at an angle facing away from one another. It had two towers on its shoulders, their were glowing purple fuses fitted inside them, at the top of each one was a hole, which acted as an exhaust. It head are three oval dark purple eyes, two were they should normally be and one a bit higher between them. and a face mask with holes in it. It was Summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Rewire: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆⬇

"That monster looks strong..." Ares said annoyed with this Duel now, "Impressive! You managed to bring out a Link 3 monster, but it's still useless against Cracking Dragon." the knight said.

"Who said I was done! Restoration Plant's effect activates!" Codebuster said, "Once per turn, when I use Weirdware Link Monsters to Link Summon another Weirdware Link Monster, I can Special Summon those monsters to Main Monster Zones that the new Link Monster points to!" he said shocking his opponent.

"I now Summon back Plug-Charge and Virus Buster!" he said as Plug-Charge was summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone that Rewire pointed to, Virus Buster to the Right Main Monster Zone that Rewire also pointed to.

"Due to Restoration's effect. Weirdware Link Monsters gain 500 ATK per monster they point to..." Playmaker said, Rewire's ATK: **2200 + 1000 = 3200**. "Buster also gains 500 due to pointing to Plug-Charge" Ai said, **1900 = 2400** (Virus Buster). "Rewire's ATK is higher than Cracking Dragons!" Pigeon said.

"A good move… But I now activate the Trap, Linked Blockade!" the knight said, as a face-down appeared face-up, "I was planning to use this against Playmaker, but you've forced me to use this..." he said.

"I can activate it when you control a Link 3 or higher monster..." he said, "And if I control a monster, only Link 2 or lower monsters can declare an attack this turn!" he said. "This is bad! Now Rewire can't attack!" Frog said worried… About his scoop.

"And when Cracking Dragon attacks Plug-Charge the next turn, Codebuster will lose!" Pigeon cried out in genuine worry.

"You may as well end this now Codebuster, your skill to control 3 Link Monsters at once is good, but this match has been decided!" the knight said, "Yes… It has!" Codebuster said, "I now activate Rewire's effect!" he said.

"Once per turn, I can target 1 monster on the field, and Rewire gains that monster's effect until the end of the next turn!" he said shocking the knight, "My target will be Plug-Charge!" he said, Rewire then shot his cable arm at Plug-Charge. "Data Rewrite" he shouted as the cable arm started to shift, it now where the elbow would be was now like that of Plug-Charge's tail, that had split into three.

"With its new effect, Rewire now gains the original ATK of the monsters it points to!" he said, **3200 + 1900 = 5100 + 400 =** **5500** (Rewire) "An ATK of 5500? Why do that? Rewire can no longer attack..." the knight asked suspiciously.

"It will, as I now activate Rewire's other effect!" Codebuster said, "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster it points to and half it's ATK!" he said confusing the Knight as Rewire only pointed to monsters Codebuster controlled.

"I target Virus Buster!" he said, **2400 = 1200** (Virus Buster) " _What are you planning..._ " Playmaker thought, "Battle! Virus Buster will attack Cracking Dragon!" Codebuster declared shocking everyone watching.

"Fool! Have you realised that you can't win and are trying to take yourself on your own terms!" the knight said, "Nope! As when I control the monster affected by Rewire's effect, when it attacks a monster, your monster is destroyed instead, and you take the battle damage!" Codebuster explained.

"I-I take the damage!?" the knight yelled in shock, "Data Cannonball!" he shouted as Buster shot a sphere of energy at Cracking Dragon, who sent it back at its owner, but a screen appeared and bounced the attack back at Cracking Dragon, destroying it with an explosion. **3300 – 1800 = 1500** (KoH)

"No way..." the knight got out in shock, the monster given to him by Revolver was destroyed by a literally weaker monster, "Plug Charge attack him directly!" Codebuster said as Plug-Charge shocked the knight, who twitched. **1500 – 400 = 1100** (KoH)

"And because you don't control a monster anymore..." he said, "Rewire attack him directly!" he shouted as Rewire glowed, gathering energy in its tail like arm, "Empowered Fatal Lashing!" he said as Rewire brought his tail like arm down at the knight, each end hitting him and knocking him off the board. **1100 – 5500 = 0** (KoH)

Codebuster then turned his D-Board around, "That's what you get for messing with Link VRAINS!" he said.

Codebuster: **WINS**

Knight of Hanoi: **LOSE**

"He won! Codebuster won the Duel!" Frog shouted with joy, now he could get a scoop with Codebuster. "Wow! Didn't think that he'd win like that!" Ai said, "Nether did I..." Playmaker said as he hoped onto his D-Board and made his way to the fallen knight.

With Ares and Valcry… they were pissed off, "Great! There goes the plan!" Valcry yelled in frustration, "Worry not… I'm going down there!" Ares said as he jumped off the building and landed on his own D-Board, which was like the knights but it had a red gem fixed in and a blue semi-circle on it. "You two with me!" he said, this made the two grunts follow him on their boards.

"Wait you fools!" Valcry went to follow- " _Don't follow him!_ " Revolver said over the com system, "But sir, he-", _that's an order, he shall be dealt with, I'm sending Talon in to retrieve him..._ " he said ending the call.

"Great not that guy..." she said, "Might as well head back." she said as she teleported away.

End of Chapter 2

* * *

 **I would just like to clarify that Valcry is another of my OC's, and isn't one of the slotted one, that's for you lot… Just so you don't panic… oh by the way, it's already been a couple of days, but I've got two more entry for OC's (1 for whatever they wanted and 1 for a Knight of Hanoi) so now there are four slots remaining...**

 **OC card for the Knight…**

 **Scrambling Hydra**

 **DARK, Level: 7 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/600**

If your opponent controls a Special Summoned monster: You can Normal Summon this card without a Tribute. Once per turn, send 1 Random DARK Machine-Type monster from your Deck to your GY; target 1 card your opponent controls, destroy it. If this card is destroyed by battle: Special Summon from your GY 1 other DARK Machine-Type monster with DEF less than this card's ATK, that monster cannot be destroyed for the rest of the turn.

 **Linked Blockade**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card when your opponent controls a Link 3 or higher Link Monster. As long as you control a monster, only Link 2 or lower Link Monsters can declare an attack this turn.

 **(Codebuster)**

 **DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/1000**

When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Weirdware" monster from your Hand. When this card destroys a monster by battle: Add 1 "Weirdware" monster from your GY or Deck whose Level is equal or less to the number of monsters you control. You can only activate these effects once per turn. If this card is linked to a Link Monster, apply this effect: All "Weirdware" monsters you control gain 100 ATK for every "Weirdware" monster on the field.

 **Weirdware Ventilator**

 **WIND, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/1200**

If this card is a target for an attack by your opponent's monster during their battle phase: (Quick Effect) negate the attack, and if you do, return both this card and the attacking monster to their controller's Hands. If this card is linked to a Link Monsters, apply this effect: Once per turn, target 1 monster your opponent controls; return it to the opponent's Hand.

 **Weirdware Trade-In**

 **EARTH, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/800**

Once per turn, target 1 "Weirdware" monster you control with a Level, (including this card): Tribute it, and if you do, Special Summon from your Deck, 1 "Weirdware" monster with 1 Level higher or lower than the tributed monster. If this card is linked to a Link Monster, apply this effect: During your opponent's main phase 1, they can draw 1 card from their Deck, but if they do, they cannot conduct their battle phase.

 **Weirdware Recycler**

 **EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/1300**

If this card is in your Hand or GY when card(s) are sent to the GY by either player: (Quick Effect) You can Special Summon this card. When a card(s) on your field or in your Hand are sent to the GY: (Quick Effect) target 1 card other than the sent cards, add it to your Hand. If this card is linked to a Link Monster, apply this effect: Target 1 card in your GY, shuffle it into your Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only activate each effect of "Weirdware Recycler" once per turn.

 **Weirdware Uploading**

 **Continous Spell**

You can activate this card when you control no monsters or only "Weirdware" monsters. Once per turn, when you control no monsters or only control "Weirdware" monsters: Add 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Deck to your Hand. When this face-up card is sent to the GY: Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Graveyard, but negate it effects.

 **Linked Rebirth**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

You can activate this card immediately after you Link Summon a Link Monster. Special Summon from your GY, 1 monster to a Monster Zone that a Link Monster you control points to. Should a monster linked to Link Monster be destroyed by battle be sent to the Graveyard: Banish this card, and if you do, Special Summon from your Deck 1 monster to a Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Restoration Plant**

 **Field Spell**

You can only activate this card if you control a "Weirdware" Link Monster. All "Weirdware" Link Monsters gains 500 ATK for every monster they point to. Once per turn, when you Link Summon a "Weirdware" Link Monster using a "Weirdware" Link Monster(s) as Link Material: Special Summon as many of those Link Monsters to Main Monster Zones that Link Monster points to, but they cannot be used as Link Material the turn they are Summoned with this effect.

 **Link Safeguard**

 **Normal Trap**

Only activate this Set card if you control a monster linked to a Link Monster you control. Equip this card onto that monster, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effect as long this card is equipped. Should the monster this card is equipped to leave the field, banish this card.

 **Weirdware Plug-Charge**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/400 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

1 Level 3 or lower "Weirdware" monster

This card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the monster this card points to, also this card cannot be destroyed by battle as long as this card points to that monster. Once per turn, should a card effect your opponent activates and targets this card or the monster this card points to: (Quick Effect) Negate the activation of that effect, and if you do, destroy 1 face-down card your opponent controls.

 **Weirdware Virus Buster**

 **FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

2 "Weirdware" monsters

Once per turn, when your opponent Special Summon a monster(s) to a Main Monster Zone,: (Quick Effect) target one of those monsters, destroy it, and if you do, that Main Monster Zone that the destroyed monster was Summoned to cannot be used until the end of your next turn. If a monster this card points to is destroyed: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. When this card is banished: Target 1 monster your opponent controls: Reduce its ATK to 0.

 **Weirdware Rewire**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆⬇

2+ "Weirdware" monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by battle involving a Link Monster with a Link Rating equal or higher than this card's Link Rating. Once per turn, target 1 monster on the field: Until the end of the next turn, replace this effect with that monster's original effects. Once per turn, target 1 monster this card points to: Half that monster's ATK until the end of the turn, if you control it; when it battles an opponent's monster, that monster is destroyed instead, also your opponent takes the battle damage instead of you.

 **That's it for CodeBuster's old/new Deck... also there was going to be another Duel, but that would've made this chapter too long, so that Duel will be feature next chapter. Anyways, Cya!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Hellish Encounter!

**Hey guys! This is Chapter 3… What!? Were you expecting me to say something else!?**

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts_ "

* * *

 **Link VRAINS (after Codebuster's Duel)**

As Playmaker made his way over to the knight, he couldn't help but wonder, " _Where did he get this Weirdware Deck from?_ " he thought of the new Deck that Codebuster was using, he thought he would use his Cyber Dragon Deck like before, turns out no.

"Playmaker-sama, are you going to ask the shooter where he got that Deck from?" Ai asked, "Maybe… and his name is Codebuster!" Playmaker said, then he saw him, the downed knight on the rooftop. He got a bit of Deja Vu from this.

He then disembarked from his Board and landed on the rooftop, "Damn it..." the knight struggled to say as he tried to lift himself up as Playmaker walked closer, "Knight of Han-" Playmaker went to say, but then another beam hit the downed knight, making a brace appear over his arms, locking them in place.

"What!?" the knight yelled, "Don't even think about it Playmaker!" Codebuster said as he disembarked from his D-Board, "He's mine!" he said, glaring at Playmaker, who glared back.

"Get out of my way..." Playmaker said in a sort of threatening tone, "No… Well, I could..." Codebuster said putting a hand of his chin, "If you hand over the AI!" he said.

"Ha! Playmaker-sama will never give me up!" Ai said confidently, "Maybe..." Playmaker said to the AI's shock, "But I thought you needed me!..." it whined, "Nice try, I know I can only get it properly with a Duel, but I'm not ready..." Codebuster said, "I'm just started getting used to my old Deck..." he muttered.

" _Old Deck!?..._ " Ai thought, "Speaking off Decks, wher-" he went to say, "Why can't I self-destruct!?" the knight said trying to activate the program, hoping to take the two out while they talked, "Don't bother, that brace prevents any program from activating, meaning you can't log out either." Codebuster said looking at the downed knight.

"Now as I was saying, wher-" Codebuster went to say, "What are you going to do with him?" Playmaker asked, "SOL Technologies will come and collect him for questioning, then delete his account and ban him, now onto my-"

"Codebuster!" an angry voice shouted, "Oh what is with people interrupting me!?" Codebuster yelled annoyed. Appearing before them on their D-Boards, were three Knights of Hanoi, but the one in the middle was different.

"Why have you interfered in this? You should just keep to yourself!" Ares growled out, "It was my business, as you were attacking Link VRAINS..." Codebuster said with narrowed eyes at Ares.

"Then you don't mind if I make it my business to take you out!" Ares said lifting his Duel Disk up, "I'll get to you next Playmaker!" he said glaring at said being. "Hold it right there scum!" a female voice yelled.

"Huh!?" Ares, the two knights, Codebuster and Ai said in confusion, they then turned to look behind them to see a woman standing there. She wore a black skintight suit with no sleeves on it, on the thighs of it were pink glowing lines going from the feet to the chest where they meet between… speaking of her chest… it was big! On her head on either side were two small block bits that made a holographic visor appear over her eyes, which were emerald green. She was also covered by what appeared to be a suit of robotic armour. This armour covered her legs, making her slightly taller, her hips, and her chest, there were two wings on the back, this armour was gold mixed with black. On her left wrist was the newest Duel Disk.

"Fear not my comrades… For Stratos is here!" the woman, now named Stratos said in a heroic voice…

…

…

…

"Damn, she's hot!" one of the knights said, making everyone look at him, "What!?" he said, " ***Cough, cough*** Anyways..." she said, pointing at Ares, "You need to stop your attack or else..." she said, "Oh!? And what are you going to do about it?" he asked, knowing where this was going.

"By beating you in a Duel! You are clearly the stronger of the three, if they watch you fall, they'll surrender themselves to the law." she explained.

"Fine! I need to blow off some steam before taking those two..." he said, glaring back at Codebuster and Playmaker who glared back, "You two!" he yelled at the knights, "Lead those two away from here, you can Duel them, but try not to lose!" he demanded.

"Yes Sir!" they said as they ran off the building and landing on their D-Boards, "Let's go after them..." Codebuster reluctantly said, hoping to talk to Playmaker about his Deck, "Fine..." Playmaker said as both he and Codebuster jumped off the building, landed on their boards and gave chase to the knights.

This lefted Ares and Stratos alone... "After them!" Frog shouted, having been there with Pigeon the entire time, "Right boss!" Pigeon said taking off after them.

"Where the fuck did they come from…?" Ares muttered watching the two animal avatars leave. "Now then..." he said lifting his Duel Disk, she then jumped down to his level and armed hers, the layout for a Master Duel appeared.

"Duel!" the two shouted, drawing five cards each.

Ares's LP: **4000**

Stratos's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'm going first!" Ares shouted, not drawing a card, "I activate the Continious Spell, Call of the Hellish Master!" he said as the card appeared, it depicted a picture of what appeared to be hell, fire was everywhere. There were small demons bowing to a bigger demon sitting on a throne.

"Once per turn, by paying 500 LP..." he said, Ares's LP: **4000 – 500 = 3500**. "I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Hellprince monster from my Deck, but its effects are negated!" he said, a screen appeared and he tapped a monster.

"I Summon Hellprince Guglut!" he said, this caused a red chubby demon to appear, it had yellow eyes with no pupils in them, the bottom part of the monster was a pain a goat legs cover with crimson fur. On its wrist were two black metal cuffs with rusty spikes on them. On its head were two curled horns and on it belly was a cut in marking of a circle, depicting a pentagram star but two of the star's edges curved upward to appear like horns, this marking was glowing a pale blue. This monster was summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone on his side, it quickly ate what was in its hand… which was a severed hand.

 **Hellprince Guglut: FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/1500**

"Then I Normal Summon Hellprince Iria!" he said waving his hand over the card, this caused another red demon to appear, this one was female and was thin and lanky, but appeared to be a bit moody as it was in slight pain, she wore a rip cloth around her chest and a skirt of the same material, on it back glowing underneath the cloth was the same marking that Guglut had. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Hellprince Iria:** FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/900 DEF/** 600

"When Iria is Summoned, I can add 1 Level 4 or lower Hellprince from my Deck to my Hand!" he said as the screen appeared, "I'll add Hellprince Luxice!" he said tapping the selected monster, making the appear from the card slot.

"Now appear before me! The Fiery Circuit that opens the Hellish Gate!" he yelled as hell fire appeared from his left hand, which soared into the air, causing the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads Confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Hellprince monsters with 1000 or less ATK!" he said.

"I set Guglut and Iria in the Link Markers!" he said as the monster turned into red twisters, Guglut hit the top Left and Iria hit the Bottom Right. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 2! Hellprince Mamareed!" he shouted.

This caused a red demon to appear, it was male and muscular and was cover with blood red armour from the waist up. It had two demonic wings on its back, there was a small tear in one of them. It horns were longer and stuck upwards, in its clawed hand was a battle axe, stained in dry blood. On its shoulder pad was the same marking as from before. It was Summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Hellprince Mamareed: FIRE [Fiend/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↖↘

"When Mamareed is first Link Summoned, you send cards from the top of your Deck equal to the number of cards in your Hand!" he declare, "Demonic Karma!" he said, Mamareed waved his axe sideways, this caused a fiery wave to hit her Hand and Deck, sending 5 cards to the Graveyard, 4 Spells and 1 Trap.

"And now I activate Mamareed's other effect!" he said, "Once per turn, when you have more cards in your Hand then me, I can draw 2 cards!" he said drawing that many. "And if any of them are Hellprince monsters, I can Special Summon 1 of them! Which I have drawn 1, so I Special Summon it. Appear! Hellprince Asmaed!" he said waving his hand over one of the drawn cards.

This caused another red demon to appear, it was of medium build, but appeared to sport a mischievous grin as it snickered. In its hands were two rusted dagger. It's marking was on its the back of it right hand. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Hellprince Asmaed:** FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/1700 DEF/** 0

"Asmaed's effect! When Summoned, I can Special Summon from my Deck 1 other Asmaed!" he said as a second appeared, in the Right Main Monster Zone. "I then place 2 cards face-down and end my turn!" he said as two cards appeared, then faded.

Ares's Hand x 3

 **Turn 2**

"Time to make you see justice! I draw!" Stratos said drawing her card, then waving her hand to see her other cards, the one she drew appeared to. "I Normal Summon Sky Striker Ace - Raye!" she said waving her hand over the card.

This caused a girl wearing a black and white school uniform to appear, her hair was long and pale white, in her right had was a black and red cybernetic katana. She was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Sky Striker Ace - Raye: DARK, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1500 DEF/** 1500

"Then I activate the Field Spell, Sky Striker Airspace - Area Zone!" she said, waving her hand over the card, which appeared on the field, "I can target 1 other card I control, and then excavate the top 3 cards from my Deck!" she said as the top three card appeared, "I can add 1 Sky Striker card from these cards and shuffle the rest back into my Deck!" she said as she picked one.

"But if they the other card were Sky Strikers cards, they are sent to the Graveyard instead!" the two other cards were placed in her Graveyard.

"I now activate Raye's effect!" she said, "Once per turn, I can tribute her..." she said as the monster burst into particles, "Then I can Special Summon from my Extra Deck 1 Sky Striker Ace Link Monster to an Extra Monster Zone!" she said as the card ejected from her Extra Deck slot.

"I Summon Sky Striker Ace - Kagari" she said as the monster appeared, it was similar to Rei, but she was now wearing red and orange metal armour, on her back were what appeared to be black steel swords. In her right hand was a similar sword. It was summoned to the other Extra Monster Zone, which was technically Stratos's Right.

 **Sky Striker Ace - Kagari: FIRE [Machine/Effect] ATK/1500 LINK/-1, LM** **s:** ↖

"Her effect activates when Special Summoned!" she said, "I can add 1 Spell from my Graveyard!" she said as the card ejected itself from her Graveyard Slot. "Kagari also gains 100 ATK for every Spell in the Graveyard!" she explained, Kagari's ATK: **1500 + 500 = 2000**.

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor!" she said, "When I control no monster in my Main Monster Zones..." she said waving her hand to show that she didn't, "I can target 1 Effect monster you control and negate its effects!" she said.

"I target your Asmaed in the Middle Main Monster Zone!" she said, as a grappling device shot out of the card and headed to the target.

"I activate the targeted Asmaed's effect!" Ares shouted, "During either turn, I can tribute it..." he said as the demon vanished, the grappling device going through its particles, "Then I can target 1 card you control and destroy it!" he said.

This caused the ghost of that Asmaed to appear from the Graveyard, it then lit its daggers on fire, "My target is your Field Spell!" he said as the Asmaed threw the flaming daggers at the card, destroying it. This made Kagari's ATK increase. **2000 + 100 = 2100**. (Kagari)

"Fine, then I activate the Equip-Spell, Sky Striker Mecharmory - Hercules Base! And equip it onto Kagari!" she said, this caused a flying vehicle to appear, Kagari then jumped into it.

"Now if I control no monsters in my Main Monster Zones, the equipped monster cannot attack you directly..." she said, "That's stupid..." Ares muttered, she heard and glared, "But it can declare two attacks!" she said.

"Battle! Kagari will attack your second Asmaed!" she said, as Kagari charged at the demon, "I activate the Trap, Hellish Dual Strike!" Ares shouted as his face-down flipped upwards. It showed two monsters, one knight and the other the demon clashing, both spilling blood from the other.

"When a monster I control and a monster you control battle, both are destroyed!" he said as the two monster clashed, but were suddenly destroyed by a sudden hellfire, Kagari screamed as she was vaporised.

"Raye's effect activates from the Graveyard! When a Sky Striker Ace Link Monster is destroyed by battle or leaves the field by an effect you activate, I can Special Summon her!" she said. As Rei appeared on the field in the Middle Main Monster on her side.

"I end my turn with two face-downs!" she said annoyed, "With it ending, at the end of the turn that Dual Strike was activated, we can both Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monsters from our Graveyards!" Ares said, "I Summon back an Asmaed!" he said as the monster appeared back in his Middle Main Monster Zone.

"I can't, because there are no Level 4 or lower monsters in my Graveyard..." Stratos said.

Stratos's Hand x 2

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I Draw!" Ares said drawing his card, "And now during my standby phase, in order to keep Hellish Master on my field, I must send to top two cards of my Deck to the Graveyard..." he said as the two card from the top of his Deck were sent to his Graveyard.

"Now I activate Hellish Master's effect!" **3500 – 500 = 3000** (Ares) "Now I Special Summon Hellprince Avarivid!" he said, tapping the screen for his selection, this caused a new demon to appeared, this one was black instead, on it elbows were bone like spikes spurting out of them, the horns on it head were thicker, it eyes were blood red, it had a tipped tail. The marking was on it left bicep. It was Summoned to the Far Right Main Monster Zone linked to Mamareed.

 **Hellprince Avarivid:** FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/** 1200 **DEF/1600**

"I activate my Trap, Sky Striker Soaring Back-Up!" Stratos said as her face-down flipped up, this card depicted 3 woman in robot suits, who were Sky Striker Ace Link monsters, coming to help their fellow Sky Striker Ace monster, Raye. "During your Main Phase, I can target 1 Sky Striker Ace monster I control..." she said.

"I tribute it, and Special Summon from my Extra Deck 1 Link 1 Sky Striker Ace Link Monster to an Extra Monster Zone!" she said as Raye burst into particles. "I Summon Sky Striker Ace - Hayate!" she said as she took the card from her Extra Deck and placed it in the Extra Monster Zone to her right.

This new monster resembled Rei, but she was now wearing green armour, with dark green bits here and there, on her back were 2 hover pads keeping her afloat.

 **Sky Striker Ace - Hayate: WIND [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1500 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↙

"That's not all! As when I have 3 or more Spells in my Graveyard, I can add the tributed monster's ATK onto Hayate!" she said, Hayate's ATK: **1500 + 1500 = 3000**. This annoyed Ares, "I now Normal Summon Hellprince Luxice!" he said.

A new demon appeared, it was red, but it had two large arms, and with the cuffs being too small, they were cutting circulation off to the arms, as they were purple. On either forearm was half of the marking, that when brought together would show a complete marking. It was summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Hellprince Luxice:** FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/500 DEF/** 500

"When Luxice is Summoned, it is immediately placed into Defense Position!" he said as he tapped the card, making the card go sideways, this made Luxice bring it arms together.

"I now activate the Spell, Hellish Bolt Blast!" he said as the card appeared, the image was on a demon, a Hellprince Link Monster, being burned by a bolt of lightning, the lightning was making it was to the frame of the picture.

"I target a Hellprince Link Monster I control..." he said, "And destroy it!" he said, "My target is Mamareed!" he said as dark storm clouds gathered above, then struck down Mamareed who cried in pain.

"Doing this allows me to inflict its original ATK onto you as damage!" he shouted with a smile while Stratos was shocked, the lightning then started to jump her way, jumped up then hit here from above as she screamed from the pain. Stratos's LP: **4000 – 1600 = 2600**.

"Now Mamareed's effect activates when destroyed!" he said, "The top 3 cards of your Deck are sent to the Graveyard!" he said, her Deck then sent the top three card to her Graveyard.

"Now appear before me! The Fiery Circuit that opens the Hellish Gate!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared from hellfire like before. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Hellprince monsters!" he said.

"I now set Asmaed, Avarivid and Luxice in the Link Markers!" he shouted, as the monsters turned into twisters, Asmaed hit the Middle Top, Avarivid the Bottom Left, and Luxice the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Hellprince Asmodeus!" he shouted. Appearing from a crack from ground with hellfire coming from, a demon climbed its way out, it was blood red. Its eyes were amber with red slitted pupils. It was muscular, it had horns like a goat that were curled inwards. It wore black steel armour from the waist up, on its shoulder pads on either side was the Hellprince marking. In one hand was a jagged sword, in the other hand, dangling by a rusty chain was a collar with spikes leading inside of it. It roared as it was placed in the Extra Monster Zone to Ares's Right.

 **Hellprince Asmodeus:** FIRE [Fiend/Link/Effect] **ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"Why Summon that monster…? It's weaker than Hayate..." Stratos muttered, "I now activate Asmodeus's effect!" he said, "Once per turn, by sending the top two cards of my Deck to the Graveyard..." he said, doing just that, while this happened, Asmodeus started to swing the chain around, "I can target 1 monster you control whose original ATK is lower than his ATK… And take control of it!" he shouted shocking her.

"I'll take the only monster you control, which will be Hayate!" he said as Asmodeus then tossed the chain and collar over to Hayate, it fitted around her neck, the spikes then pushed themselves in slightly, not breaking the skin, Hayate glowed red as she screamed in slight pain.

"The monster targeted by this effect is then placed in a Monster Zone on my side of the field, and these changes last until the end of the next turn!" he explained, as Asmodeus pulled on the chain, forcing Hayate over the Middle Main Monster Zone on Ares's side.

" _Oh no… I have nothing to protect myself!_ " she thought looking down at her face down, it wasn't good in this situation, it required her to control a Sky Striker Ace… But-

"It's time to end your stupid hero act, unlike Playmaker or Codebuster, they know what to do!" Ares said, "Battle! Asmodeus will attack you directly!" he ordered, "Hellfire Slashburn!" he shouted as Asmodeus brought its sword above its head, gather a red fiery energy on the blade, it brought the sword down, making a line of energy to make its way over to Stratos, who cried in pain. **2400 – 2200 = 200** (Stratos)

"And finally your own monster will attack you directly!" he ordered, Hayate struggled in not attacking, but Asmodeus started to tugged on her chain, forcing her sword to glow to, causing a strong wind to gather around it, she swung the sword, causing a twister to appear from the winds and make its way over to Stratos, she opened her eyes and they widened as the twister got closer…

* * *

 **With Codebuster...**

"Weirdware Perfect Precision will now attack you directly!" Codebuster ordered as his monster armed with a hi tech sniper rifle and wearing green camo, quickly shot a beam at the knight, passing his monster and hitting him, taking the rest of his life points with him.

As the knight fell, he screamed, but Codebuster shot a beam at him, catching him in a brace that stuck him to a wall of a building… upside-down. "There... That should-" Codebuster went to say, but heard an explosion, he turned to the direction it came from, and saw what was left of a twisters fading.

"Was that Stratos?" he said as he made his way other there. With Playmaker he too had finished with his knight, but the knight went to blown himself up, but Ai turned into that monstrous form again and gubbled him up. "If you're going to be useful, try and stop the knight from self-destructing..." he said, as he turned to the direction of smoke now appearing.

"Well sorry!" Ai said sarcastically… Playmaker thought it was real convincing for a program… "Let's go!" he said, directing his D-Board over to the explosion sight.

* * *

 **Back to the Duel…**

After the explosion had occurred, Stratos was now lying down unconscious, **200 – 3000 = 0** (Stratos) "That was sad..." Ares said walking over to her.

Ares: **WINS**

Stratos: **LOSE**

"That was really sad, I only lost 1000 points… That I spent for my own card." he said as he crouched over her, "Say goodbye to your account..." he said as he slowly reached out to touch her as red energy covered it, "Stop!" a voice yelled, making him pull back, the energy disappearing.

He turned around to see both Playmaker, who got there first, and Codebuster as they landed on the roof. "Stop what your doing!" Playmaker ordered throwing a finger out. " _User has sustained damage, now logging them out._ " Stratos's Duel Disk said as Stratos's form started to disappear, meaning she had been forced to log out.

"Great, just when I thought I could put her out of her misery..." Ares muttered, as he stared at where she was before, he then turned to look at the two. "Now that I've blown some steam off… time to deal with you bastards!" he said menacingly.

"Bring it on!" Codebuster said lifting his Duel Disk up but Playmaker stopped him, "Stay out of this!" he ordered, "Like you can make me!" Codebuster argued back.

"Enough! I'm going to end-" Ares snapped, "Stop this now Ares!" a figure said as they landed in front of him, the figure was a man, wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, white trousers with black markings and lines on them. His hair was black and brushed to the left side, the fringe appeared to be like that of a bird's wing. His eyes were blue. on his right wrist was the old version of the Duel Disk, that was blue and light blue.

"Talon!? What are you doing here!?" Ares yelled as the now named Talon stood up, This was Talon, a Knight of Hanoi, seeing that Ares knew him, but he wasn't wearing a mask though.

"Coming to collect you..." Talon said as he turned to face Ares, "Revolver wants you back at base." he said, this caused Playmaker to widened his eyes at the name, "Revolver!? Where is he!?" he demanded, as Talon turned to them.

"Don't worry… he'll come for you eventually..." he said, he turned and glared at Codebuster, who glared back, "You should've just stayed out of the way..." he said to him, "Let's go!" he said to Ares as he teleported away.

Ares gritted his teeth in frustration, "This isn't over!" he shouted as he too teleported away. With them now gone the last two on the rooftop looked at one another, "Now that that's done, can I ask you some-" Codebuster went to say… but.

"Playmaker! Codebuster!" Frog yelled as Pigeon carrying him flew over to them, "Great not them..." Codebuster muttered, "As I was-" he went to say again but when he turned to look back at Playmaker… he was gone.

"God damn it!" he swore along with Frog, " ***Sigh*** At least we can get an interview with Codebuster about his new Deck..." Frog said… "Boss… Codebuster has also gone..." Pigeon said as he watched Codebuster log out. "Why didn't you stop him!?" Frog yelled at him.

"I'm sorry boss!" Pigeon cried…

* * *

 **Cafe Nagi, (19:36 PM)**

Stumbling out of the chamber was Yusaku, "Yusaku! Are you alright!?" Kusanagi asked as he walked over to help him up and sit him down, "Yeah..." he said, "What's wrong?" Ai asked, "Shoichi, did you watch his Duel?" he asked.

"Yes!" he said as he typed something, which brought up a video of Codebuster's Duel with the first knight with his new Deck, nothing on the second one though, "I'm as surprised as you are, I didn't think he'd have a new Deck, much less a Cyberse one..." he muttered.

"What have you learned about it from close up?" he asked, he had a hunch, but he wanted to be on the same page first, "Three things..." Yusaku said, "One: They seem to rely on Special Summoning and Swarming the field, either for Link Summoning, Effects or anything else the Deck can do..." he said.

"Two: There Attributes seem to differ, but this doesn't affect them in any away, just like my Deck" he added, "And three: While Downloader was linked to a Link Monster, it seemed to unlock another effect, the other Main Deck monsters may share the same linking effect but do other things..." he said.

"And what about Codebuster?..." Kusanagi asked, he had a feeling that he knew was Yusaku was going to do...again, "Three things..." he said, there is was!" One: He now has a new Deck, which we just discussed, we must find out all we can about it, should he and I Duel..." he said.

"Two: Codebuster wanted to Duel me for the AI, meaning that he has been confirmed to be working for SOL Technologies in its retrieval from me, which may explain the new Deck..." he added.

"And three, he also seems to be going after Hanoi, possibly for extra money reasons and to protect Link VRAINS..." he finished.

"We need to find him and ask him about his Deck!" Ai yelled, curious about the Deck, he knew for a fact that- "That may be difficult..." Yusaku said, as he brought up info on Codebuster… which was now blank, except for his profession and what company he worked for, as well as the Deck he used, which was Cyber Dragon, which was wrong seeing that he had just used a new Deck.

"This info… Where has most of it gone!?" Shoichi asked in shock, when he looked up the guy for Yusaku to research, there was more than this, and if he was using a new Deck that should've appeared on the Cloud instead of his old Deck.

"He must have altered his Cloud to ensure no one can figure out who he is, and what all of his new cards can do..." Yusaku said, "There goes finding him out..." Ai muttered sadly. "But why keep his Cyber Dragon Deck?" it asked.

"To distract his opponents maybe, they may think he'll keep using his new Deck, meaning they may modify their Decks to deal with it, but he may have altered his Duel Disk to allow for switching between the Decks quickly, thus tripping the opponent up." Yusaku theorised.

"Still at least I downloaded this video as the Duel was recording..." Shoichi said looking at the screen. "Which is a good move, seeing that Codebuster now appears to be secretive about his new Deck..." Yusaku said.

"He'll end up deleting videos in which this new Deck will appear in, like we do for you." Shoichi finished for him, "Meaning we now know that he is also an adept hacker like us." Yusaku said. "You'll need to be care now Yusaku, if Codebuster can stop someone from logging out with that beam without Duelling him first, and if we can't record any new Duels with the Deck, it will give you a serious disadvantage against him!" Shoichi said.

"Worry not, I'm not going to lose..." Yusaku said determined…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru, third story, Matoyia's Room (same time)**

Having just logged out, the sphere disappeared, Matoyia opened his eyes, and sat up slowly, "That went well for a first time using it again..." he said talking about his Deck, "Now to go down there and see what they think..." he said walking to the door and making his way downstairs.

When he made it the bottom of the stairs, Asuka opened the door, spooking him a bit, "Oh shit!" Matoyia yelled in slight fright, not expecting that, "Language!" she scolded him, "Sorry..." he muttered.

"Nevermind that! Why didn't you tell us that you had Cyberse monsters!?" she asked, the two then walked down and sat down, Asuka back on the long sofa, and Matoyia on the armchair.

"I hardly used it when I got it, that's why..." he explained to them, "Why did you stop using it?..." Aito asked, "When the Cyberse monsters and cards for them started to vanish, I thought mine would go next, so I returned the data to their cards, and hid the Deck…" he said to him.

"That was 5 years ago..." he said, "Where did you get the Deck from?..." Aito asked, this made Matoyia pause for a bit, "It was a birthday gift from my mom..." he said, "Before she passed away..." he added, shocking them, he had never talked about his mother before to them.

"So will it work? Will it help you to defeat Playmaker?" Asuka asked, changing the subject, seeing that she saw Matoyia looked uncomfortable now.

"Maybe… It's clearly better than my Cyber Dragon Deck, that wouldn't stand chance if I used it as it was…" he said, "But with my Weirdware Deck back in action, things should be fairly even should we Duel." he said.

"But what about Hanoi?..." Asuka asked, "I'll have to be careful with them… that's why I've increased my Cloud's firewall, so they can't track me down, and I've managed to modify said Cloud so that only my Cyber Dragon Deck is shown, that way they won't know what Deck I'm going to use to kick their asses!" he said putting his fist into his other hand.

"Still… try and be careful..." she said, "I will… Now I wonder who Revolver is?..." he said rubbing his chin. "Who?" they asked him...

* * *

 **Knights of Hanoi's Base (same time)**

"Why didn't you retreat?" Revolver asked Ares, who was kneeling down on one knee and looking down, "I thought I'd be able to deal with them..." Ares said, "Yes you may have… Individually, and if you knew how their Decks work." Revolver said.

"It's a good thing that we managed to record the Duel that Codebuster was in." Spectre said smug at seeing Ares being punished. "I tried to stop him-" Valcry said, "You stay out of this!" Revolver ordered, silencing her.

"Now back onto you..." he said looking back at Ares, "When a plan fails, you don't just move onto what you think is the right move, not only did you not even Duel Playmaker, but you wasted your time on this Stratos character..." he said, "Not only that, but we lost 3 good grunts today." he added.

"One to the Ignis and Playmaker, and two to Codebuster who turned them into SOL Technologies." Spectre said, "Speaking off Codebuster… What are you going to do with him?" Talon asked, "Ah yes, Talon, thank you for retrieving Ares back there..." Revolver said, "My pleasure..." Talon said, but with a slight bit of venom in his tone, but they ignore it.

"As for Codebuster… he has taken out 3 knights, meaning his three strikes to stay out of this are now over!" Revolver said, "That and by using these Weirdware Cyberse monsters, he's a problem now, for as long as they're around, the Ignis will survive." he added.

"So when any of us encounter him… terminate him!" he ordered, "Yes Sir!" they said with a bow, "As for you Ares, you shall return to spying on the enemy, from the real world. Do not come back here for a week, and only report to Spectre until then." Revolver said to Ares specifically.

Ares however gritted his teeth, "… Yes… Master Revolver..." he reluctantly said, "Good, now go!" Revolver demanded, as Ares stood up, bowed, then logged out. "If you need me Revolver I'm going to check with Baira on something..." Talon said, taking his leave. "Something wrong Valcry?..." Revolver asked, as Spectre took his leave as well.

"Yes… it's Codebuster!" she said, "Something about him bugs me..." she added, watching the video of Codebuster finishing the first Duel with a Knight today. "Why do you think that is?" he asked, "Just this feeling..." she said, "I'll be leaving now Revolver… see you tomorrow." she said as she logged out, leaving Revolver to himself.

" _Codebuster… You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into..._ " he thought as he logged out to check on his father's condition…

* * *

 **Den City…**

Within a luxury apartment, just getting up from his chair that he used to enter Link VRAINS… was Mars Volturnus, and he was pissed off, "Stupid Revolver..." he swore as he got up from the chair and went to get a drink.

Mars while in Link VRAINS was known as Ares, who is joint third in command of the Knights in Hanoi, but in the real world he worked as an assistant for a higher up at SOL Technologies, giving Hanoi an inside mole.

"He said, that he'd allow me to reveal the incident, but he hasn't let me!" he growled as he hit the door of his refrigerator. "Calm down..." he said breathing in and out, "I just need to help in the destruction of the Cyberse and Ignis, then I can reveal what SOL Technologies has been covering up for ten long years..." he said.

What he talking about was the lost incident that took place 10 years ago, where 7 children vanished and used in an experiment, not a lot of people knew about the incident, due to SOL Technologies.

However there were rumors floating around about it during the last 10 years, he was 15 when he found out about it… by eavesdropping on his father, who was a manager at SOL Technologies, and was one of the people to help fund the project. He then learned what else he needed by scouring the internet for the rumors.

With this and his since for justice, he wanted to bring the incident into the light, and putting SOL Technologies in trouble for covering something so heinous, evil, twisted and cruel from the public.

However, during his scouring at 17, he accidently found out about the Knights of Hanoi, the lost incident had another name, the Hanoi Project, linking the two together, he checked the knights out… and discovered the project's true objective.

He figured that if he joined, they could help him to reveal the project to the world… But that hasn't happened much, as he needed to help them with their mission.

"Now with Codebuster in the way, it may be ages until the world sees the light..." he said, thinking about him and his new Deck, wondering where he got it from.

"He'll have to go first, then Playmaker, get the Ignis from him, rediscover the Cyberse World, destroy it, then the truth will come out..." he said, he went to take a shower then bed, he had to be at work tomorrow after all...

* * *

 **The next day, Den City High School, (9:45 AM)**

"You may all think that computers understand everything, but..." A teacher said to his students in Classroom 1-B, "They actually only understand binary." he said, "And what Binary is and exactly what and how it is explained, is in a game developed by a French Developer, Edouard Lucas." he added.

"Called the Towers of Hanoi..." he finished as the students were taking notes…. Not all of them though, " _Hanoi..._ " Yusaku thought thinking back on what happened during the past few days, he then started thinking about three things, the Knights of Hanoi, Data Storms and Ai's existence.

" _The_ _se three things_ _must be connected somehow..._ " he thought, " _If I meet Revolver, will it all come together?_ " he asked himself, " _I need to find out the truth behind the accident that happened to Kusanagi-san's little brother..._ " he added.

"Hey! Hey!" Naoki Shima said to him, shocking him out of his thoughts, "Hmm?" he said looking at Naoki, "Did you see Playmaker and Codebuster Dueling yesterday?" Naoki asked, "No!" Yusaku said, shocking Noaki.

"And you still consider yourself a Duelist?!" Naoki said slightly louder, not wanting to get into trouble with the teacher again, "I was right there, and it was super amazing!" he said, "Codebuster's new Deck was the biggest surprise I've ever seen!" he said.

Yusaku was a bit bothered that he was talking about Codebuster for some reason, but he couldn't quite figure out why… "They're both so cool!" Naoki said, "Yeah sure..." Yusaku said resting on one arm, " _Weirdware… Just where did they come from? Is he also a victim like me and Jin..._ " Yusaku thought.

"Hey! Where's your Duel Disk?!" Naoki asked, as he noticed that Yusaku wasn't wearing it. "I left it at home." Yusaku said to him, "It's watching over my house." he added, "Really!? I didn't know that the old Duel Disk had a feature that's let's them watch over your house…?" Naoki said confused, never hearing of such as thing.

"Alright class, that will do for now, please make sure you write a report about this by next week!" the teacher said as he and the students started to pack their things up.

"Seriously, you gotta tell me about this thing your Duel Disk can do!" Naoki asked, but then walked past him up the stairs, "Hey! Watch it-" he went to say but then he got a look at the guy.

The guy was 5'7 ft, his hair was doubled purple coloured there was a fringe like a stack of bananas that was blue, his skin was fair, and his eyes were grey with a tint of silver in them, his school uniform was like the other male students… messing its tie and the top two buttons undone.

"Oh! AnDru Plast! Sorry about that!" Naoki said, apologising to AnDru, even though he bumped into him… coward! "It's alright..." AnDru said, then took off, "Hey! Where did Fujiki go!?" he said as he realised he was the only one lefted in the room. "Why am I always last..." he muttered as he left for break.

* * *

 **Yusaku's place, (10:12 AM)**

Yusaku's place was fairly nice, affordable and plain… like Yusaku himself, he technically lived by himself, if you don't count the robotic maid Roboppy… and now Ai, who was placed in a glass case inside Yusaku's bedroom, where Roboppy was hoovering.

Ai was currently looking through the software of the Duel Disk/Prison to try and find a way out… he couldn't, he then looked towards Roboppy, "Hey you!" he said, this made the robot stop what it… she was doing.

"How may I help you?" Roboppy asked, "You're an idoit right?" he asked, "Idiot is a prohibited word." she said back, "And just by saying that proves your an idiot!" he said doing an eye roll. "Say, do you want to become smarter?" he asked "Like isn't doing chores and watching over the place boring?" he asked her.

"Boring?..." she said confused, " _It doesn't even know what boredom is..._ " Ai thought, "Listen up! If you become smarter, you'll be able to do many more things!" he said, "And you'd become free!" he said.

"If you follow my orders, I'll fix your AI to be better!" he said, "What do you say?" he asked smug, she didn't reply straight away, "I'll follow you!" she said, "Good! Good! Now unlock this and set me free!" he ordered…

* * *

 **Den City Orphanage, (same time)**

"Stupid Codebuster!… Stupid Playmaker!" Go Onizuka said as he carried some gifts for the children, walking through the hallway to meet them. "Calm down..." he said to himself, "So Codebuster has a new Deck, so what!" he said, "And Playmaker is nothing more than a coward, hiding in the dark, and only taking on weaker Duelist like Hanoi..." he reassured himself.

He then looked down at the presents, hoping the kids would love them, but he was wondering why they didn't come to greet him like they usually did, so he made his way in, he then stopped at a door where he heard cheering and laughter, he peered into it and was shocked at what he saw.

The children were all sitting down on a mat and watching what happened yesterday, the Duels with Codebuster against the knights, along with Playmaker's Duel, which Frog and Pigeon were filming, the caretaker recorded them so the kids could watch them today.

The children were so immersed with watching the screen, and their smiles were big… Go thought they were bigger then the ones he got from them, " _Until a few day ago, I was the only one those kids looked up to..._ " he thought as he watched the Duels finish with the kids cheering for both Codebuster and Playmaker.

 _But now all they're doing is watch those two with their beaming eyes..._ " he added, slightly shaking, making one of the present fall to the floor with a thud. He then set the presents down and made his way out, sad that he wasn't who they looked up to…

Then he thought, if he showed them that Playmaker wasn't a hero… They'd go back to idolising him. He didn't know what to do with Codebuster, he was fine, but he'd Duel him next to show his strength. "Maybe Akira can help me..." he said lowly remembering the offer Akira Zaizen gave him.

End of Chapter 3

* * *

 **Mars and his Pseudonym Ares were created by And then the sky, while Talon was created by Crow38… his real life counterpart will be revealed later. AnDru Plast was created by I0-Hopeful Heart Dragon… His Link VRAINS counterpart will be also be shown later on.**

 **Also all the slots for whatever you want have technically been filled. Jalen Johnson gave me an OC that he wants to appear in season 2…**

 **And that got me thinking, I may add more OC's for season 2, so now Jalen's OC has been moved to that slot, (there will be 2 more slots for season two, you need to inform me if you want them to appear in that season).**

 **So there are 3 slots lefted offically to make their appearance in season 1 of this, (1 for whatever you want and 2 for Knights of Hanoi)**

 **OC cards**

 **(Ares) (And then the sky's ideas, but my designs)**

 **Hellprince Guglut**

FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/D0 DEF/1500**

When this card attacked or is attacked: It gains ATK equal to the current ATK of the battling monster it first battle that turn. The first time this card should be destroyed by battle, it is not. When this card is destroyed: Add 1 "Hellish" Spell or Trap from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Hellprince Iria**

FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/900 DEF/600**

When this card is Summoned: Add 1 Level 4 or lower "Hellprince" monster from your Deck to your Hand. You can only activate this effect of "Hellprince Iria" once per turn, Upon this card destruction: Send the top card card from your Deck to your GY.

 **Hellprince Asmaed**

FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/1700 DEF/0**

When this card is Summoned: Special Summon from your Deck 1 "Hellprince Asmaed", your opponent cannot activate card effect to negate this. (Quick Effect) You can tribute this face-up card: destroy 1 card your opponent control. You can only activate the effects of 1 "Hellprince" Asmaed" once per turn.

 **Hellprince Avarivid**

FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/1200 DEF/1600**

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: Send the top 2 cards of your Deck to the GY. During damage calculation: This card gains 600 ATK. If this card destroys a monster with a Level by Battle: Send cards from the top of your opponent's Deck to the GY, equal to the Level of the destroyed monster. (1 Level = 1 card sent)

 **Hellprince Luxice**

FIRE, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] **ATK/500 DEF/500**

When this card is Summoned in Attack Position: Immediately place this card into Defense Position. While this card is in Defense Position, it cannot be destroyed by battle. When this card is destroyed: Send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard, for every "Hellprince" monster sent to the Graveyard by this effect: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

 **Call of the Hellish Master**

 **Continious Spell**

Once per turn, pay 500 Life Points, and if you do: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Hellprince" monster from your Deck, but its effects are negated. During your standby phase: send the top two cards of your Deck to the Graveyard, otherwise destroy this card.

 **Hellish Bolt Blast**

 **Normal Spell**

Target 1 "Hellprince" Link Monster you control: Destroy it, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK until the end of the turn. You can only activate 1 "Hellish Bolt Blast" once per turn.

 **Hellish Dual Strike**

 **Normal Trap**

When a monster you control is the target for an attack, destroy both it and the battling monster. During the End Phase of the turn is card was activated: Both players can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from their GY's, but negate their effects.

 **Hellprince Mamareed**

FIRE [Fiend/Link/Effect] **ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↖↘

2 "Hellprince" monster with a 1000 ATK or less

When this card is first Link Summoned: Send card from the top cards of your opponent's Deck to the GY equal to the number of cards in your opponent's Hand. Once per turn, when your opponent has more cards in their Hand then you do: Draw 2 cards, if any of them are "Hellprince" monsters; Special Summon 1 of them. If this card is destroyed by battle: Send the top 3 card of your opponent's Deck to the GY.

 **Hellprince Asmodeus**

FIRE [Fiend/Link/Effect] **ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

2+ "Hellprince" monsters

When this card is first Link Summoned: Send 1 card from the top card of your opponent's Deck to the GY for every monster this card points to, then make this gain 400 ATK for every monster that was sent to the GY with this effect until the end of the turn. Once per turn, send the top 2 cards from the top of your Deck to the GY: Target 1 monster your opponent controls whose original ATK is less than this card's current ATK, take control of that monster, and place it in a Main Monster Zone this card point until the end of the next turn. When this card is destroyed: Send the top 5 cards of your opponent's Deck to the GY.

 **(Stratos)**

 **Sky Striker Soaring Back-Up**

 **Normal Trap**

During your opponent's main phase 1, target 1 "Sky Striker" monster you control, immediately after this effect, tribute that monster, Special Summon Link 1 "Sky Striker Ace" Link Monster to an Extra Monster Zone. If you have 3 or more Spells in your Graveyard when this card is activated: Until the end of the turn, add the target's ATK onto the Special Summoned Link Monster's ATK.


	4. Chapter 4: Let's get ready to Rumble!

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or reading_ "

* * *

 **Café Haru, first story, (11:13 AM)**

"Really? You injured yourself getting out of the shower!" Matoyia asked Yui over the phone, he was manning the counter, as Asuka had taken Aito to a therapy session, so he had to skip a day at school for it. Matoyia had taken his jacket off and was wearing the Cafe's apron.

"Thank you! Come again!" he said to a customer, handing them their purchase of chocolate muffins. "You were saying." he said into the phone, "Yeah, and now I'm bedridden for a couple of weeks..." Yui lied… About how she injured herself, not being bedridden, but Matoyia didn't know that.

"So we can't go to the movies like we planned later tonight..." she said, "Plan? Movies?" he asked, confused, "Oh did I not tell you? We, meaning me, Sora and Hiroshi decided to go to the movies to see that new Star Wars movie." she said.

"And you were going to ask me last minute, and pressure me into going." Matoyia concluded, he knew from past experiences that this plan of hers usually worked on him. "Hehehehe..." she nervously giggled.

"Well… I'm not busy later on, so we could come over to yours and watch a movie instead!" he suggested, "Really!? You'd do that!?" she asked, "Sure what are friends for." he said,

"Thank you! Thank you!" she said excited, "Great, I'll tell the others about this, later!" he said, "Bye!" she said happy as she ended the call, he then put his phone away and went back to working, but was thinking about something else.

" _That's twice that Playmaker has gotten away from me..._ " he thought thinking back to yesterday, " _Ares and Talon, two knights of Hanoi, and by judging that the two regular knights listened to Ares, he must be a higher up, same with Talon maybe… but who is Revolver?_ " he asked himself as he took the next customer's order.

" _If Talon knows him and that Revolver wanted them back, it may mean that he's either higher up than them, or is the leader of Hanoi._ " he added, " _If he's the leader, he must be the toughest of them all, I'll need to ready for him._ " he finished as the door opened and hit the bell, meaning a new customer had entered.

"Hi! How can we-" he went to say, but was shocked at who had stepped into the building, "It's Go Onizuka!" a random customer said, as indeed Go Onizuka was standing there, looking a bit confused, "How did I get here?" he muttered to himself, looking around the place, it was a nice place.

"Go, can I get an autograph?" a customer said getting a picture out of Go, " _Did that customer seriously have a picture of Go on them?_ " Matoyia thought as he stared as Go signed the picture, "Thank you? My son's going to love this!" the customer said going back to their table. Go then made his way over to the counter.

"What is this place?" he asked, while people stared at him from their tables, but he was use to it, so he ignored them, "Welcome to Café Haru, the cosy little internet café around this district!" Matoyia told him.

"Oh! I didn't realise where I was heading..." Go said to him, Matoyia then noticed that Go seemed upset about something, "Something wrong?" he asked him, this made Go think for a second, wondering if he should tell him.

"Its about Playmaker..." he said, "What about him?" Matoyia asked, "Well if you must know, I usually head to the Orphanage to donate gifts to the child..." he said, "Really? I didn't know about that!" Matoyia lied.

During his time trying to research Playmaker, which bore no fruits, he decided to research other people that could get in his way, this included Go Onizuka, as he wanted to Duel Playmaker when he first encountered the guy.

What he learned was that Go had based his Avatar on his real self, this meant that he had nothing to hide, and loved attention… This made Matoyia think he had a huge ego… which he did, but Go made up for this, as Matoyia also found out that most of Go's winnings and what money he made from commercial and ads went into the orphanage that Go used to live in.

He believed that Go did this to somehow pay off a debt to the orphanage for taking him in when no one else would, and that he wanted other kids to experience a better life until they were adopted by a nice family.

So Go was in fact a nice guy… when his ego wasn't in the way, "Yeah, and the kids used to love me and watch me Duel… but now, what with Playmaker now around and with Codebuster's new Deck, they love them more than me!" Go said.

"Is that a problem or just jealously rearing its head?" Matoyia asked, "Jealously?" Go said, "Yeah, you probably think that children only have enough room in their hearts to admire one person, but that's not true at all..." Matoyia said to him, with him listening to this.

"They're just kids, they can admire whoever they want, for as long as they want, but they'll eventually put someone they cherish above these people..." Matoyia said, "Thanks for that… But as long as Playmaker is acting like a hero, they won't think of me..." Go muttered, "He needs to be shown as the coward he is!" he growled out.

This made Matoyia a bit concerned, wondering what Go was going to do, "Just think about what I said Go… Would you like a drink?" he asked, "Umm sure, I take an Espresso to go!" Go said, he might as well order something… he then thought that he may come back here every once and a while.

"Coming right up!" Matoyia said as he went to make the drink leaving Go to himself… and the people staring at him. " _Is he right? Kids can admire one than one person..._ " Go thought, just then the door opened, setting the bell off. And walking into the building was Sora Goto, Matoyia's friend, looking down at his phone.

"Hey Matoyia!" he said, still looking down at his phone, "Listen, I don't know if you've heard from Yui, but she's injured herself, so we can't go to the movies, like we..." Sora said as he slowly looked up to greet Matoyia, but stopped speaking when he saw Go standing there looking back at him.

"Hey Sora!" Matoyia said greeting him as he made the espresso for Go. Sora didn't respond back and just made eye contact with Go… who was a bit nerved by this.

"Err… Hi!" Go said, "Go Onizuka! It's really you!" Sora yelled rushing up to Go, shocking him a bit, "I can't believe that I get to meet you in person, I'm a huge fan of yours!" Sora said, looking up at Go with a smile, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Thank you..." Go said slowly, "Calm down Sora, he's just like you and me, a real guy." Matoyia said as he came back with Go's espresso in a foam take away cup. "Here you go Go!" he said making a little joke that Go laughed slightly, "Thanks!" Go said as he took out his wallet and paid the amount for it… While Sora stared into his back, making Go a bit uncomfortable.

"Thanks… and you may want to leave if you don't want to be pestered by Sora here" Matoyia said look at his friend, "Wait wait wait!" Sora shouted, "Can I at least get an autograph… for my little brother?" Sora asked as Matoyia raised an eyebrow, " _Smooth..._ " he thought with laugh.

"Sure!" Go said as he signed a bit of paper Sora had in his pocket, "Thank you!" Sora said, "Your welcome..." Go said as he turned back to Matoyia, "Thank you for your words, and I may come back sometime." he said as he finally made his way outside, back to his warehouse gym.

"I can't believe it..." Sora said watching him go, "Me either..." Matoyia said, then smirked, "Seriously though? Your 'little' brother?!" he said with laugh, "Shut up! I couldn't tell him that I'm the little brother in my family!" Sora retorted, his face red as Matoyia laughed...

* * *

 **Den City's Psychotherapy Clinic Resort, (12:43 AM)**

"So tell me Aito? How have you been since our last encounter?" Dr Shinkei asked as Aito sat opposite of him on a long therapy chair. Dr Shinkei was a man of 34, his hair was grey with purple mixed into it, it was in a loss pony tail as his hair covered his head. He was wearing a sweater vest under his white coat.

"Doing better…" Aito said, "Have you experienced the terror dream again since last time?" Shinkei asked, "No..." Aito said, "And what about your fear about Duelling?" he asked, as he wrote stuff down on his clipboard.

"No..." Aito said sad, before the incident, he used to love Duelling, he'd talk about it, wanted to Duel anyone he could, he didn't mind if he lost, he just wanted to have fun… but now, he was terrified to pick up his old Deck, or even a Duel Disk for that matter, they just collected dust now a days.

"Hmm… the experience must have been immensely awful for you to not Duel anymore..." Shinkei said, "Why do think that is?..." Aito asked, "Most likely that seeing that you had to Duel to survive during it, your subconscious is trying to make you stay way from actually Dueling, to ensure that you don't relapse into the trauma!" Shinkei concluded.

"Hmm..." Aito hummed, it did make since, "Oh, would you look at the time, the hour is up!" Shinkei said looking at the time, they had started 11:45 AM, they started off with what Aito was doing at school, at home, and what he did in his free time… Then the last thing they'd go over ever session was his phobia of Dueling.

"Okay..." Aito said getting up, "I'll see you next time..." he said, "That's if you think you still need this session." Shinkei said, "Maybe you won't with the way your heading!" he said, making Aito smile slowly. "Thank you..." he said as he lefted, his sister was on the other side outside of the room, "Ready?" she asked getting up.

"Yeah… let's go." he said, the two then made their way out, along the way, Aito looked through the other doors… to see the other patients in their rooms. One room always got his attention, inside was a young man of 16 with purple hair that was long and unkempt. His eyes were grey and dull, and he was crouched inwards.

Aito would always stop at this, just due to the aura that the young man gave off, he turned to look at the sign that told him who it was inside, "Jin Kusanagi..." he read, wondering what Jin had gone through to be like this.

"Aito?" Asuka said back to him, "Coming..." he said following his sister out…

* * *

 **Go Onizuka's warehouse, (14:20 PM)**

"I hope you know what your doing." Go's manager said to him outside of the ring that Go was standing in, "I do… I'm going to do this, reveal Playmaker as a fake hero, and that I'm still the king!" Go said determined.

He raised his arm into the air, "Into the VRAINS!" he shouted as the sphere appeared around him… " _Be careful..._ " his manager thought with worry...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS… (A few minutes later)**

Flying about the virtual city, which had been restored to what it was like before the attacks, was Pigeon, not carrying Frog about, Frog had told him to try and find Playmaker… No such luck!

"I can't find Playmaker anywhere… But at least Codebuster showed up for his patrol this morning!" Pigeon said to himself, "I think Playmaker only shows up if the Knights of Hanoi are attacking." he guessed, that did seem to be a recurring event.

"But what are the chances of Hanoi attacking right now?" he asked himself, suddenly he heard a portal open behind him, "Huh?" he said confused as he turned around… and saw a Knight of Hanoi appearing from the portal.

"Oh no they're here!" he cried out in fear as the knight passed him. "I've got to record this!" he said as he started to record the event…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (same time)**

Currently Yusaku was in the next lesson, but the teacher hadn't arrived yet, so he was being pestered by Naoki, "I've been checking Link VRAINS over and over, hoping to see if Playmaker will show up again..." Naoki said.

He then turned on his tablet and went onto the Link VRAINS Channel… and face to face with a Knight of Hanoi. "Ah! It's Hanoi!" he shouted, alerting Yusaku to this, "Mr Shima, we discuss the Tower this morning!" the teacher said as they walked in, and heard this.

"Not that! The Knights of Hanoi!" he shouted, "Right-" he went to ask Yusaku… but he'd vanish, "Where did he..." he said confused…

* * *

 **Café Haru… (same time)**

"Hey Sheila, where's Matoyia?" Asuka asked as she and Aito entered the room, what she noticed what that the customers were now silent, "He just went up stairs for a bit, but check this out!" Sheila said as she pointed at one of the TV's on the wall, it was linked to Link VRAINS, where Asuka and Aito were shocked to see a Knight of Hanoi on it.

" _Now we know why he went upstairs..._ " Asuka thought, "Aito you can go upstairs if you want!" Asuka said to him, "Okay..." he said walking passed the table and making his way into the back and upstairs.

When he reached it he made his way into to Matoyia's room, "Into the VRAINS!" he heard from his room, meaning that Matoyia had just entered Link VRAINS. "Time to see what's going on too..." Aito said as he reaching the living area and turned on the TV to the Link VRAINS Channel...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS...**

Appearing from a new portal that appeared out of nowhere was Codebuster, who then landed on his D-Board and went to find the Knight. "Hopefully Playmaker shows up..." he said… not that he couldn't take the knight, just so he could Duel him after.

A few minutes later he found the knight standing on a rooftop, "Codebuster..." the knight said as he faced Codebuster, "Leave now!" Codebuster demanded, "No! Not until I've dealt with Playmaker." the knight said…

" _Something's off about this knight..._ " Codebuster thought, he got the feeling that this knight… wasn't who he said he was… but he couldn't place why… Well he did notice one thing, the knight wasn't rampaging with his Cracking Dragon.

"So your just gonna wait here?" he asked, "Yes!..." the knight said, then turned away, "Okay..." Codebuster said confused. " _Now I know something's off..._ " he thought...

* * *

 **Yusaku's House, (30 minutes later)**

Within Yusaku's bedroom, "Ohhh..."A voice moaned… There was something different about the room, "Ohhh..." again a voice moaned… the main thing was that Yusaku's Duel Disk had been removed from the casing…

…

And was now underneath his bed… where Roboppy was tampering with it, how she managed to do this is a mystery, "Oh yeah! A bit more to the right!" Ai moaned out, "Oh Yeah! Yes! Yes!" he moaned happily, "Please be quite. My hands will slip otherwise." Roboppy said taking her hands away.

"Lousy bot! You sure are an idoit!" Ai said annoyed "That's a forbidden word!" she said, suddenly she heard a door open, shocking both her and him, "The kid's back from school already!" Ai yelled, suddenly Roboppy picked him…

A few second later, Yusaku entered his room and made his way to the casing, that now had the Duel Disk back in it… not that Yusaku knew, he looked to his left where he saw Roboppy sitting on a stool. He then opened the casing.

"Hey your home early toda-" Ai said with a whistle at the start, Yusaku cut him off by grabbing the Duel Disk, "We're going to Link VRAINS!" Yusaku said as he placed the Duel Disk on his arm, then made his way to the chamber in his room.

"What!? Why are you going there now!?" Ai asked, "A knight of Hanoi has shown up!" Yusaku said, "So what! Let Codebuster deal with it, I don't want to be a hostage anymore!" Ai said, but Yusaku ignored him.

"Deck Set!" he said placing his Deck into the Duel Disk, "Into the VRAINS!" he shouted…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

"So..." Codebuster said, trying to get the knight to talk to him… It wasn't working, Pigeon was above circling them. As time went by, people were starting to comments in the chat room, 'Why aren't you doing anything!?' was the most common one.

This ticked Codebuster off, "Hey! It's not like I haven't tried to, he doesn't want to Duel!" Codebuster yelled looking at Pigeon, making sure the people watching knew this. "Come on Playmaker..." he muttered as he turned to stare back at the knight.

" _Something's not right, if I was the knight… thank god I'm not..._ " he thought, " _I'd be rampaging around to make Playmaker come faster..._ " he thought, " _He's clearly just a hacker who wants to cause mass panic, that's just sad..._ " he thought.

A few moment later, Playmaker appeared from a portal and landed on the roof they were standing on, "About time! What took you so long to get here!?" Codebuster yelled at the new arrival, "None of your business..." Playmaker said as he faced the knight who turned around.

"You're finally here, Playmaker..." the knight said, Playmaker got up but just stared at the knight, then narrowed his eyes. "Did you sense that something is off, Playmaker-sama?" Ai asked, "He's not a Knight of Hanoi!" Playmaker said.

"So you came to the same conclusion then..." Codebuster said, he knew, but Playmaker confirmed it as well, the knight then started to laugh, "I used this Knight of Hanoi to lure you out!" the knight said… as he started to glow, and his avatar started to change, revealing-

"Go Onizuka!" Codebuster yelled in shock, not expecting him to be behind the disguise, "That's right, I am Go Onizuka! And I'm a real hero, one that's going to expose you for the wannabe hero that you are!" Go declared.

"Looking up Go Onizuka right now!" Ai said, a few moments later, it had found the info, "An Entertainer who took the Dueling world by storm..." it said, "And he's currently ranked as No. 1 Charisma Duelist." it said.

However Playmaker just turned around and started to leave, "I'm not interested!" he said, "Kay!" Ai said, glad to be getting out of here… But suddenly, and giant cage appeared around most of the area they were in.

"What the hell is this cage!?" Codebuster yelled with shock, "Seeing that's it only Go, I'm leaving..." Codebuster said he went to log out…. But couldn't, "Huh?" he tried again, but nothing happened, "What's going on?" he said as he checked for something.

He found out why, the cage was in fact a program, that prevented anyone inside of it from logging out, "Go mus have don this..." he concluded, but that didn't make sense, for one thing, the info he researched told him that Go wasn't really that good with creating programs and or advanced ones for that matter.

"You realised it, didn't you?" Go said to Playmaker's Ai, as Codebuster was to the side, "I'm sorry you got caught up in this Codebuster, I don't really have anything against you, seeing that you take down criminals… even if you are a Bounty Hunter for money..." Go said to him.

"Wow… I feel so appreciated..." Codebuster said sarcasitically. "Now this program will only deactivate if you win a Duel against me." Go said back to Playmaker, who turned back to face him, "Who asked you to do this?" Playmaker asked.

" _I have a good hunch..._ " Codebuster thought, the only reason they would pick Go was that he had strength like him, but Go would rush into something without much of a plan… something SOL Technologies would like if he won a Duel against Playmaker if they helped to set up said Duel.

" _But the question is who at SOL gave the program to him._ " he added, "I see no reason to tell a hacker like you." Go said, "All that matters to me is proving that I'm stronger than you Playmaker!" he said clenching a fist.

"Careful! He's strong, don't let your guard down." Ai said, "Don't worry, I won't lose!" Playmaker said, suddenly the wind started to pick up, meaning a Data Storm Stream was approaching them, the two, Go and Playmaker ran off the rooftop, and landed on their D-Boards.

Codebuster than gave chase, landing on his own D-Board, and then activating his Drone to start recording the Duel, it detached from his back and flew to catch up to the two.

"Speed Duel!" Go and Playmaker shouted drawing 4 cards each,

Go Onizuka's LP: **4000**

Playmaker's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'm going first!" Go said, "My turn!" he said waving his hand to see his Hand, "I Normal Summon Gouki Suprex from my Hand!" he said waving his hand over the card, appearing on his field was a blue wrester, with flowing unkempt hair on his back, the theme the monster it was appearing to be like that of a T-Rex. It was Summoning to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Suprex: EARTH, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 0

"When Suprex is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Gouki from my Hand!" he said holding the card in question, "I'm now Summoning Gouki Twistcobra!" he said as a new monster appeared, it was a green wrestler, it had 4 strands of what appeared to look like cobra head, it was based to appear to be a snake. It was Summoning to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Twistcobra:** EARTH, Level: 3 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/1600 DEF/** 0

"Then I end my turn!" he said.

Go's Hand x 2

 **Turn 2**

"This is what Go usually starts with, building up a weak defence, let the opponent get the upper hand, but then he'll get up and overwhelm them, just to make the Duel even more fun for everyone..." Codebuster muttered eyeing Playmaker, "I wonder if Playmaker will enjoy it too?" he said to himself. He got the feeling that he was a man who didn't have time for fun.

"I'll defeat him with my very Dueling!" he heard Playmaker declared, "My turn! Draw!" Playmaker said drawing his card, "I set one card face-down!" he said as a card appeared face-down then faded.

"When they're no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand!" he said holding the card, "Appear! Linkslayer!" he shouted placing the card on his blade. Appearing on his field was a warrior wearing armour the head looked like a lynx's head, the armour itself was a dark yellow, a brown-red cape was on his back, on his wrist were energy claws. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone on Playmaker's side.

 **Linkslayer: EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 600

"Then I Normal Summon Cyberse Wizard!" he said as the wizard was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Cyberse Wizard: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 800

"Alright! The Charisma Duelist, Go Onizuka, and Link VRAINS's new hero , Playmaker have begun a Duel!" the MC shouted from the outside world, "Is Go Onizuka turning from babyface to heel? Or is Go going to unmask this new hero of justice like he said?" he asked.

"This isn't a Duel you don't want to take your eyes off!" he said as the children in the orphanage were watching the Duel were anticipation… however they were mostly watching for Playmaker, holding signs for him.

"Huh? Go sure is a baffling guy, he lets the opponent attack him and put himself in danger on purpose." Ai said, "I don't care about his Dueling Style." Playmaker said as Go then laughed, "A 2 vs 2 brawl between monsters, huh?" he said. "Like a pro-wrestling tag match!" he added with a smile.

"Pro-wrestling tag match?" Codebuster muttered to himself, as he then started to picture a wrestling ring with Playmaker and Go standing in it with their monsters sizing one another up.

"Pro-wrestling is my speciality… The audience will count "one, two, three," and I _will_ knock you out!" Go said.

Let's see shall we!" Playmaker retorted, "I activate Cyberse Wizard's effect and target Suprex with it!" he said as the wizard created his staff, "Now Suprex is switched into DEF! Cyberse Algorithm! " he said as the wizard waved his staff over Suprex, making it crouch into DEF.

"What!?" Go yelled, "And during the turn I use this effect, I can only attack that monster, but I can inflict piercing damage!" Playmaker said, "Battle! Linkslayer attack Suprex!" he ordered, "Suprex's DEF is 0..." Go muttered.

"Meaning the damage you take will be 2000!" Ai shouted "Meteor Slash!" Playmaker said as Linkslayer slashed Suprex across the chest not once, not twice but three times it then exploded, said explosion caused Go's D-Board to swerve and make him kneel down. Go's LP: **4000 – 2000 = 2000**.

" _He's faking it..._ " Codebuster thought, as he watched Ai look up the info he himself found earlier, "I see… He uses his entertaining Dueling to make money for the orphanage so the kid's can have a better future." it said, as Playmaker just stared head, not sure what to make of the info Ai just told him.

"Come on Go, get up!" Codebuster said, getting into the Duel, not sure why he was falling for the gimmick when he knew about it, "Oh! Even Go Onizuka is at his limits!" the MC said dramatically, "God that guy gets on my nerves sometimes..." Codebuster muttered.

The MC then explained to the audience a pro-wrestling term, with Go's shoulders having touched the mat, and that the referee will be tapping the mat soon. "One!" the MC and crowd shouted with a finger raised.

"Two!" they shouted, another finger raised, "And Thre-" they shouted but stopped as at the last second Go suddenly struggled to stand back up, "No wait! He's..." the MC dramatically stuttered.

"Oh my, Go Onizuka managed to lift his shoulders up on the count of 2.9!" he shouted, as Go stood up properly, "I now activate the effect of Suprex that was sent from the Field to the Graveyard!" Go said.

"I can add a Gouki card except itself from my Deck to my Hand!" he said, as a card ejected itself from his Deck card slot, "I'm adding Gouki Riscorpio to my Hand!" he said, "So it was just an act after all..." Playmaker.

" _Did he seriously just realise this now, the Ignis just told him..._ " Codebuster thought, "He's going to plan his next move..." Playmaker added, "Still at least he lost half his LP!" Ai reminded him, "Humans sure do make illogical choices sometimes." it said, "Yeah, sometimes a person's heart can be shaken by irrational thoughts." Playmaker said

"What do you mean by that!?" Ai shouted "I don't think you'll understand if I told you." he said, "You're annoying!" it yelled, "Those two don't seem to get along." Codebuster noticed their little spat.

With Go, "Power… I can feel power surging throught my hand!" he yelled shocking his opponent, "Alright! I'm all fired up!" he yelled determined. "I now activate my Skill, Fighting Spirit!" he shouted as the lining of his coat glowed.

"Fighting Spirit Special Summons all Gouki monster that were destroy in battle this turn!" he explained, shocking both Playmaker and Codebuster, "Didn't know his Skill was that!" Codebuster yelled as Suprex was Summoned back to the Left Main Monster Zone.

"I end my turn..." Playmaker said having done all that he could do, "Why didn't he attack Twistcobra with Cyberse Wizard?" Codebuster, then realised that Twistcobra may have the same effect when it leaves the field.

Playmaker's Hand x 2

 **Turn 3**

"My turn!" Go said, "I draw!" he drew his card, "When I control no monster or only Gouki monsters, I can Normal Summon Gouki Riscorpio without releasing a monster!" he said taking the card. This made a new monster, red in colour to appear, like the other two, it was a wrestler, the themed animal was a scorpion as it had claw pincher and a scorpion tail. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Riscorpio:** EARTH, Level: 5 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/2300 DEF/** 0

"Wow! What a big comeback!" Ai yelled, ""No, he hasn't shown his trump card yet..." Playmaker said, "Come forth! My Circuit!" Go yelled as the sparks erupted from his hand and shot into the air, making the Link Portal appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is two or more Gouki monsters!" Go said, "I'm setting Suprex, Twistcobra and Riscorpio in the Link Markers!" he declared as the monsters in question turned into twisters of their own colour schemes.

Twistcobra hit the Bottom Left, Suprex the Bottom Right and Riscorpio the Middle Bottom Link Markers, turning them red and making the portal glow.

"Circuit Combine!" he shouted as forming from red energy was a new monster, it had a fur cape that covered most of its body as it then soared along with Go, "Link Summon!" he said, "Show yourself! Link 3 Gouki the Great Orge!" he said as the monster threw the cape over his shoulders, underneath the cape was dark grey armour covering the ogre, on its arms were curved spike bones in its right hand appeared a halberd axe. Is was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Go's right.

 **Gouki the Great Ogre:** EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] **ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬇↘

"So that's his ace..." Codebuster muttered, meanwhile the crowd who were cheering for Playmaker at first, were now starting to cheer for Go, "He really is an entertainer." he said with a smile, thinking maybe he should take a swing at Go after this, that and he needed to find out who gave Go the program.

"I now activate the effects of the Gouki cards that lefted the field!" Go said as three cards ejected themselves from his Deck which he took. "And I'm even done yet!" he said, "As long as the Great Ogre is on the field, all face-up monsters on the field will lose ATK equal to their original DEF!" he explained.

Ogre Pressure!" he shouted as Great Ogre started to roar, making Playmaker's monster flinch, Cyberse Wizard's ATK: **1800 – 800 = 1000** , Linkslayer's ATK: **2000 – 600 = 1400**.

"Seriously! He can even lower our monster's ATK!?" Ai shouted, "Now from my Hand I activate the Spell, Gouki Rematch!" Go said, "I can now Special Summon two monsters with different Levels from my Graveyard in Defense!" he explained.

"I Summon Riscorpio and Twistcobra!" he said as the two monster appeared, Riscorpio in the Right Main Monster Zone and Twistcobra in the Middle one. "Not only has a Link Summoned, but he also reinforced his defenses as well!" Ai shouted in fear.

"I now activate Twistcobra's effect!" he said, "I now release Riscorpio..." he said as Twistcobra glowed green, Riscorpio burst into particles, "This now allows Great Ogre to gain it's ATK until the end of the turn!" he explained. Great Ogre's ATK: **2600 + 2300 = 4900**.

"That's some serious fire power!" Codebuster yelled, "If he takes that, he'll be left with only 100 LP!" he said, "Then by sending Twistcobra in my Hand to the Graveyard..." Go said sending a Twistcobra to his Graveyard Slot.

"I can Special Summon Gouki Headbatt from my Hand in Defense! He said, this made a new monster appear, it was purple, is themed as a bat, as it had wing gliders on it arms, it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Headbatt:** EARTH, Level: 2 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/** 800 **DEF/0**

"When Headbatt is Summoned like this, I can target 1 Gouki monster I control it gains 800 ATK until the end of the turn!" he added, shocking Codebuster, **4900 + 800 = 5700** (Great Orge)

"I can't believe it Go may actually win this… If Playmaker face-down wasn't there..." Codebuster said as he stared at where Playmaker's face-down was. "This is my finishing hold!" Go declared.

"This is bad! A single hit from that monster and we've lost!" Ai said panicked, "Stop panicking, I activate the Trap, Cyberse Shatter!" Playmaker said as his face-down flipped up. "When a card or effect is activated and that would change the ATK of a monster while I control a Cyberse Monster. I can negate that change!" he said. **5700 = 4900** (Great Orge)

"Then I draw 1 card!" he said drawing a card, "Wait! Why didn't you use that effect on Twistcobra!?" Ai asked annoyed, " _Due to this, even if you attack, he'll only have 100 LP!_ " Go's Duel Disk told him.

"Quiet! 100 LP is nothing more than a candle in the wind! Go retorted to his Duel Disk, "Battle! Great Ogre, destroy Cyberse Wizard!" he ordered, Great Ogre brought his halberd above his head form both arms, "Ogre Axe!" Go shouted.

Great Ogre brought the weapon, releasing a purple beam at Cyberse Wizard, who moved in the of the beam to protect Playmaker, but he was destroyed regardless, Playmaker's LP: **4000 – 3900 = 100**.

"I end my turn!" Go said, "With it ending Great Ogre's ATK returns to normal." he said, **4900 = 2600** (Great Orge)

Go's Hand x 3

 **Turn 4**

"Whoa! Go Onizuka swung his mighty Ogre Axe!" the MC yelled excited, "Looks like Link VRAINS's newest hero- Playmaker – made a misplay!" he said, "Now he's hanging on by the skin of his teeth!" he added.

" _This doesn't make since, why didn't he use that trap when Twistcobra used his effect?_ " Codebuster thought in confusion, " _He wouldn't make a misplay like that!_ " he added, suddenly he noticed something up ahead.

"What is that?" he said confused, but as it got closer, "A Backdoor!" Codebuster yelled in shock, alerting Go to this, who turned just to see the apparent backdoor pass him. "Someone is helping Playmaker!?" Go shouted as the backdoor neared Playmaker.

"Look! You can escape throught there!" Ai said, happy to get away from this Duel… But at the last second, Playmaker swerved out of the way of the portal, shocking Go, Codebuster and Kusanagi, who had created the backdoor.

"W-Why didn't you go through!?" Ai shouted at him, Codebuster had a guess, "Because he doesn't run from a Duel!" he deduced, "However just because he didn't take it..." he said then typed a command into his Duel Disk, making the drone stay.

"Doesn't mean that I won't!" he yelled making his D-Board go into the Backdoor.

* * *

Kusanagi having watched this was shocked, "Codebuster used the Backdoor instead!?" he yelled from within his truck.

"This is bad! He could try and locate the source it came from!" he said as he typed away, trying to remove any trace he had made...

* * *

 **Café Haru, Third Story (same time)**

Matoyia, having escaped the cage program and immediately logged out, quickly woke up and started his computer up, and typed away, "Thank you Playmaker's ally!" he said to himself as he typed.

"Now let's see if I can recover it!" he said as he quickly hacked the cage program, which was indeed from SOL, and found how his ally made the program, he made a rough design of the backdoor, and scanned for a copy, the result was the one he used to get out, but he noticed that someone was trying to remove their virtual finger prints from it.

"Not so fast you!" he said typing away faster, after a few seconds of this, he got what he came for, "Got it!" he shouted, pressing one final key, what he managed to recover was the IP, part of it though, that was used to send the backdoor.

"This will come in handy..." he said smiling, now he had a way to contact Playmaker or his ally whenever he wanted to, "Now back to watching!" he said as he brought up the program for his drone still in Link VRAINS, so he could watch from outside…

* * *

 **Back to the Duel…**

"Again!? Why didn't you get out?!" Ai shouted at Playmaker, "Since I accepted this Duel, I cannot flee." he said, "Humans really do take actions that are impossible to understand..." Ai muttered, "Just what were you thinking, Playmaker-sama?" it asked.

There are three reasons I'm continuing this Duel..." he said, "One: He's using various tactics to entertain the crowd. Even me his opponent." he said shocking Ai and Matoyia watching from his drone. "Entertain Playmaker!?" Matoyia said but no one heard him.

"No matter when or who he's facing, he'll keep doing his own style. That's the Dueling that he believes in!" Playmaker added, "It proves that he's a proud, first-rate Duelist." he finished his first reason. "You really believe he's first-rate!?" Ai said shocked.

"Two: He's determined to win this Duel." he said, "Entertaining and winning are contradictory." Ai pointed out, "He's not wrong..." Matoyia said, again no one heard him, "True, but when the two unite, you achieve a state of mind that you can't rationally reach." he said, "This is what he's achieved!" he further added to his second reason.

"And Three: Those are the reasons that make me want to Duel him to the end!" he said, "I'll defeat him with superior Dueling! That's my style as a Duelist!" he finished.

"Cannot comprehend!?" Ai said dizzy, just trying to understand his reasoning. "My turn! Draw!" he shouted drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Draconnet from my Hand!" he said. This made a smallish dragon like monster to appear, it was pale blue, with a dark blue like netting covering it, it had no eyes, but a circle on its head appeared to be an eye. It was Summoned to Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Draconnet: DARK, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 1200

"When this card is Normal Summoned, it's effect lets me Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck or Hand in DEF!" he explained.

"Appear from my Deck, Bitron!" he said as appearing a small white robot with a black screen where its eyes were which are glowing blue, around its white body were several protrusions. It gave a cute cry as it appeared. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Bitron: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Normal] ATK/** 200 **DEF/2000**

"Take this! Ogre Pressure! Go yelled as Great Ogre's effect took affect, making the two new monsters to flinch, Draconnet's ATK: **1400 – 1200 = 200** , Bitron's ATK: **200 – 2000 = 0**. "What an annoying effect!" Ai exclaimed.

"Actually everything is now ready..." Playmaker said, "About time!" Matoyia said, "Appear! The Circuit that leads to the future!" he declared, sending sparks into the sky with his hand, making the Link Portal appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is one Normal Monster!" he said, "I now set Bitron in the Link Marker!" he said, Bitron then turned into a twister of its colour, that then hit the Middle Bottom Link Marker, turning it red, and making the portal glow.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Link Spider!" he said as a robotic dark blue spider appeared, it was Summoned the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's right.

 **Link Spider: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"I now activate Link Spider's effect!" he said, "Once per turn, I can Special Summon from my Hand 1 Level 4 or lower monster next to it's Link Marker!" he said, "Once again appear Bitron!" he said, as a second Bitron appeared in the Right Main Monster, that Link Spider pointed to in Defense.

"Ha! You Link Summon a weakling?" Go said with a laugh, "I'll just use Ogre Pressure to lower its ATK by it's D-" he went to say, but realised something, "That's right! Link Monsters don't have DEF!" Playmaker said smiling, "Did he just smile!" Matoyia said shocked.

"I was waiting for this moment..." Playmaker said as a Data Storm twister appeared, "What are you planning?" Go said, his Duel Disk then told him about his Skill, "So he took my attack on purpose!?" he said, but then remembered that he lowered the ATK gaining from Headbatt, but not Twistcobra.

"That Punk! He's copying earlier scenes from before!" he said gritting his teeth, he then turned forwards to see a split in the stream, one heading to the Data Storm and the other a safer path. He went to the safe route, while Playmaker went to the Data Storm, going inside it.

When inside, he took a moment to brace himself, "Seize the wind, Playmaker!" Ai shouted, he then held his hands forward, starting to gather data into a card… However… Ai heard a roar, it looked around.

"Now where have I heard that roar from?" it said trying to remember… and it did! "Wait!?" it said, as it frantically looked around and caught sight of a shadow fast approaching them. "It's back Playmaker!" it cried out, Playmaker heard his outburst, stopped and dived to the left, just avoiding the shadow, that broke through data wall of the Data Storm.

The two looked back to see a mechanical tail of some kind before it disappeared, the shadow retreating back into the storm, "That monster again?" Playmaker said, "Nevermind that, it's gone, try it again quickly!" Ai said.

"Right!" he said, holding his hand out again, once again gathering data again, while having done it once before, the slight pain was still there, "Now!" it shouted, "Storm access!" he shouted as the card was complete.

From the outside, Go had circled around, Playmaker had just made his way out of the Data Storm and landed behind Go.

"Whatever you did, it's not enough to defeat me!" Go said, "Let's see!" Playmaker said, "Appear! The Circuit that leads to the future!" the Link Portal appeared again.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters!" he said, "I now set Bitron and Linkslayer in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters turned into twisters, Bitron hit the Middle Top and Linkslayer the Middle Left.

Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Link Bumper!" he said as appearing from the portal was what appeared to be a monster made up of parts from a pinball machine, it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster, that Bitron was in before.

 **Link Bumper: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1400 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬆

"When there is a Cyberse on my field, I can Special Summon Back-up Secretary from my Hand!" he said as appearing was the monster in the Middle Main Monster Zone, that Link Bumper pointed to in DEF.

 **Back-up Secretary: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1200 **DEF** **/800**

"Appear for the third time! The Circuit that leads to the future!" he said shocking Go as the portal appeared again, "Three consecutive Link Summons!" Matoyia said amazed. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters!" he said.

"I now set Back-up Secretary and Draconnet in the Link Markers!" he said as the two turned into twisters of their colours, Draconnet hit the Middle Left, and Back-up Secretary the Middle Right.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 2! Honeybot!" he said as a humanoid female bee appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone as Link Bumper pointed to it.

 **Honeybot: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅➡

"And now!" he said shocking Go and everyone watching as a fourth portal appeared, "FOUR LINK SUMMONS!" Matoyia yelled in shock. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Effect Monsters!" Playmaker said.

"I set the Link 2 Honeybot and Link 1 Link Spider in the Link Markers!" he said, as the monster turned into twisters, with Honeybot's splitting into two, these two hit the Bottom Left and Bottom Right, with Link Spider hitting the Middle Top.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Decode Talker!" he said as the Code Talker appeared from the portal and was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone that Honeybot was in before.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"Incredible! He's Link Summoned four times in one turn!" the MC yelled from the outer world, "Now I activate the Equip-Spell, Cyberse Annihilation! And equip it onto Decode Talker!" Playmaker said.

This made 3 ting green spheres appear around the Code Talker, that were then absorbed into the monster, "Then I banish Cyberse Shatter from my Graveyard to activate its effect..." he said his Duel Disk told him that the card was now banished.

"I can Special Summon a Link 2 or lower Cyberse Link Monster from my Graveyard!" he said, "I choose Honeybot!" he said as Honeybot appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, it pointed to Decode Talker.

"Three Link Monsters!?"Go said, just like Codebuster did when he battled that knight with his new Deck. "But they're no match for Great Ogre's ATK!" he reminded him. "Our next battle with be the final one." Playmaker said.

"Battle! Go, Decode Talker!" he shouted as the Code Talker soared past him and headed to Great Ogre, "Since Decode Talker is equipped with Cyberse Annihilation, it's ATK become the same as Great Ogre's!" he said. Decode Talker's ATK: **2300 = 2600**.

"Decode End!" he shouted as Matoyia started to picture the wrestling ring again, "Ogre Axe!" Go shouted as his Ogre charged as well, the two monsters clashed and were caught in a stall mate. Suddenly a burst of light exploded between them knocking them back and on the floor.

"It's a double knock out!" Aito shouted, as Matoyia heard him from downstairs, he smiled at this then turned back to his screen, "Is he going for a draw?" he said to himself, as he saw the two monsters slowly get back up. With Decode's ATK going back to normal. **2600 = 2300** (Decode Talker)

Great Ogre seemed to struggle to sit up, "My Dueling is only starting!" Go shouted, "I expect no less from you…"Playmaker said, "Due to Honeyboy's effect, Decode Talker that it points to isn't destroyed in battle." he said as Decode stood up fully.

"That's why you were going for mutual destruction..." Go concluded, "Too bad! As Great Ogre's effect!" he said as the Ogre glowed, "By destroying a monster that it points to..." he said as Headbatt was destroyed, "It cannot be destroyed by battle!" he said as Ogre caught a second wind and stood up fully as well.

"Headbatt's effect!" he said, "When sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add a Gouki card other than itself!" he said as card ejected itself from his Deck which he took. "What an astounding turn of events! Both monsters have been revived!" the MC cheered.

"Look likes your mutual destruction plan failed!" Go said, "Who said that was my plan!" Playmaker said shocking him, "What!?" Go shouted, "Link Bumper's effect" Playmaker shouted, "Decode Talker can attack for every Link Monster on my Field!" he explained.

"That means it can attack three times!" Go yelled, "The second attack! Decode Talker, attack Great Ogre again!" Playmaker ordered, as the Code Talker charged again, "Bring it! Attack all you want!" Go said now smiling, "If that's what you want..." he said with a smile.

"Due to Cyberse Annihilation, Decode's ATK becomes the same as your monsters!" he said, **2300 = 2600** (Decode Talker) "Decode End/Ogre Axe!" the two both shouted for their respective monsters. Once again the two mosnter clashed and the result was the same, to Matoyia, it appeared as thought Decode had hit and slid down the wrestling ring. With Great Ogre doing the same.

"Another double knockout!" Matoyia said, "Now by destroying the linked Twistcobra, Great Ogre isn't destroyed!" Go said as Twistcobra was destroyed instead, Great Ogre than sat up, "Honeybot's effect prevents Decode Talker from being destroyed by battle!" Playmaker said as Decode Talker also got up from his stomach, he shook his head, which Matoyia thought he pictured. **2600 = 2300**. (Decode Talker)

"Now Twistcobra's effect!" Go said, "I can add a Gouki card other than itself from my Deck to my Hand!" he said as he took the card that ejected itself. "Now with one more attack from Link Bumper, Decode Talker attacks Great Ogre one more time!" Playmaker said.

"Due to Cyberse Annihilation, Decode's ATK once again becomes the same as Great Ogre's!" he said, **2300 = 2600** (Decode Talker) "Decode End!" he shouted as Decode charged for a third time, "Great Ogre! Ogre Axe!" GO yelled.

For a third time, the two clashed, it swinging at the other with their weapons, the two then landed on the other side from each other, the first to fall was Great Ogre. "Due to Honeybot, Decode Talker isn't destroyed." Playmaker said as Decode turned to face the downed monster and taunt him with a come hither.

"Great Ogre's effect!" Go said, not giving up, "When it's destroyed in battle, I can destroy a monster linked to-" he said but realised something, "Great Ogre has no monster it points to..." Matoyia realised why Playmaker had done what he had done.

"That's right, you have no monsters left to destroy instead of Great Ogre! Playmaker said, "This means that Great Ogre is now destroyed!" he said, suddenly Great Ogre started to crack, then exploded. This made the kids watching to be horrified that their big brother Go had lost his ace.

"Now Annihilation's other effect!" Playmaker said, "When your monster is destroyed in battle, you take damage equal to its ATK!" he explained shocking Go, as the card releashed a beam at Go, knocking him off his D-Board. **2000 – 2600 = 0**. (Go)

To Matoyia, Go fell to the floor of the ring, and the bell went off, signalling that he was down for the count. "And three! The match is over!" the MC shouted as the crowd cheered, "An unbelievable comeback in Charisma Duelist Go Onizuka vs Playmaker-" the MC would've finished, but Matoyia turned the screen off.

Playmaker: **WINS**

Go Onizuka: **LOSE**

"What an amazing Duel!" Matoyia said leaning back in his chair, his drone had recorded the Duel, so that was more data on Playmaker's Deck, and as a plus, he manage to get something from his ally, which meant he could contact them for something important.

" _The only question is what though, would be important to Playmaker?_ " he thought, besides Hanoi, he couldn't think of anything else, it's not like he knew the guy and why he went after Hanoi. "Oh well, I'll come to that later..." he muttered.

"Now onto who at SOL gave Go that program..." he said looking back at the program that was still on the screen, which he then closed, seeing that it wasn't needed anymore.

"I could ask him… but where would be the fun in just that!" he said as he looked at his Duel Disk, "Time for me to take on the champ..." he said smirking…

* * *

 **Go's warehouse, (30 minutes later)**

Having been out of Link VRAINS for a while, at first, when he awoke, he was annoyed by the fact that he lost to Playmaker, but it was an amazing Duel, then I was worried that he could never face the children again… but that wasn't a problem as the children had come to greet him, clapping and cheering for him.

" _Even though I lost, they still admire me as a champion..._ " he thought looking at the child made champion belt the kids had made him, it made him smile, making him think of the words that man told him. " _Maybe Matoyia was right… there is enough room in their hearts for more than one person._ " he thought of the words that Matoyia had told him earlier.

He then noticed that his manager was making his way over, "Something wrong?" he asked, making the children go quite, they were about to leave back to the orphanage.

"No not really but..." the manager said as he brought out Go's tablet, he took it and opened up to see a message from- "Codebuster!? What does he want?" he asked, "I don't know, you said you have nothing against him..." the manager said, then smirked.

"But maybe he wants a go at the champion too!" he said, the children having heard this were smiling, "Would you really Duel Codebuster!?" a boy asked him, Go thought for a moment.

"If that's what he wants… he may want something else." he said, "None the less, I'll go to see him!" he declared, "And if it is a Duel, will you lot watch?" he asked them, "Yeah!" they shouted, "Then come on kids, let's head back to watch this Duel!" the caretaker said leading them out, "Good luck Go!" a kids shouted as they lefted.

"Now lets see what he wants!" he said as he stood in the middle of the ring again, "Into the VRAINS!" he shouted…

* * *

 **Yusaku's House, (10 minutes later)**

Just outside of his house, was Cafe Nagi, Shoichi had driven it over to meet up with Yusaku, who had just opened the back door, which reminded Shoichi about what happened, "Why didn't you take the backdoor to log out?" Shoichi asked him.

"I wanted to enjoy dueling him for a bit longer." Yusaku answered, "Well we may have a slight problem now..." Shoichi said, "Did you see that Codebuster took the backdoor instead?" he asked, "No I was concentrating on the Duel, why?" Yusaku asked.

"Why would he do that?" Ai asked, "To try and get a part of the source's IP!" Yusaku concluded, "Yes… and he succeeded." he said, "So he's that good a hacker." Yusaku said, taking this in.

"You know… Codebuster has dealt with Hanoi about three times..." Shoichi said, "He seems capable, and knows what he's doing, Go Onizuka was a formidable opponent..." he added, with this making Yusaku wonder where he was going with this.

"There will come a time when we won't be enough to fight the Knights of Hanoi. So if they can fight along side us..." he said, But noticed that Yusaku turned to leave, "The fight against Hanoi is life or death. Codebuster knew what he was getting into, having similar encounters with his line of work..." Yusaku said.

"But I don't want Go involved in that kind of Duelling." he said as he shut the door behind him, leaving Shoichi to himself...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

Back within the virtual world was Codebuster, having called back his drone, was sitting on the ledge of a roof, just kicking his feet out. "Codebuster!" Go said as he landed on the rooftop, "About time you showed up..." Codebuster said getting up and facing him.

"You seem happy, even though you lost to Playmaker." he said, "True, but he was a good match…" Go said, "Speaking of matches, do you want to Duel too?" he asked, "Yes… but first can I ask you something?" Codebuster asked.

"Sure." Go said, "Where did you get that program?" he asked, "Because, no offense to you, but you don't seem like the tech type." he said, "None taken, and if you want to know that bad, let's bet on it!" Go said.

"Fine! If I win, you tell me who gave you that program." Codebuster said, "But what do I get?" Go asked, "I know you donate to your old orphanage… so I'll donate some money that I got from catching some of the knights!" he said, "Really? You'd do that?" Go asked in shock.

"Yes… If you win…" he said, "Very well, but since you declared the Duel, I'll pick the setting for our match." Go said "Deal!" he said, "It will be a Speed Duel!" Go said. "Very well..." he said as he walked off the roof, where his D-Board caught him, Go then jumped onto his D-Board and took off after him.

"What's this!? Go Onizuka is Dueling again? And against Codebuster a fellow Charisma Duelist!" the MC shouted, gaining the attention of the people nearby, "Codebuster?" a man said, "He hasn't really duelled since the Hanoi's second attack..." a woman said.

"Didn't he use a new kind of Deck?" another asked, within this crowd was Sora Goto and Hiroshi Akiyama, "Codebuster is Dueling Go now!?" Sora asked in shock, still trying to get over the shock of his idol losing to Playmaker, he wasn't sure if he could see another defeat by Codebuster's hand.

At the orphanage the children had returned a while ago, the Caretaker turned the TV on, just in time to see Go and Codebuster start their Duel, the kids immediately sat down, with signs for both Codebuster and Go.

"Show him why your the champ Go!" a kid shouted, making the others cheer as well, this made the caretaker smile. "Good luck Go..." she said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen are we ready for another action packed Speed Duel!?" the MC asked as more people crowded into the plaza, "Yeah!" they screamed.

"You ready?" Codebuster asked smiling, hoping to have duel with Playmaker had with the guy, "Yes! Now lets get ready to rumble!" Go shouted as they zoomed across the stream.

"Speed Duel!" they two shouted as the drew four cards each.

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

Go Onizuka's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'm going first!" Codebuster declared, "My Turn!" he said not drawing a card, "I activate the Continious Spell, Replacement!" he said as the card appeared, it had a picture of a recycling bin on it, with a card going into it.

"Once per turn, I can send 1 card in my Hand to the Graveyard to add 1 card from my Deck that is the same type as the sent card!" he explained. "I send Weirdware Recycler to the Graveyard!" he said waving his hand over the card to send it there.

"Then with Replacement's effect is now add a monster to my Hand!" he said as a card was ejected which he took, "Now Recycler's effect!" he declared, "Once per turn, when a card is sent from either of our Hands to the Graveyard while this card is in my Hand or Graveyard..." he said.

"I can Special Summon it!" he said, as Recycler appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Recycler: EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/** 1300

"Then I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed!" he said, "I now draw 2 cards!" he said drawing that many. "Then I Normal Summon Weirdware Downloader!" he said as the monster appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Downloader: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"When its Normal Summoned, once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster from my Hand!" he said, "I Summon Weirdware Installer in Defense!" he said waving his hand over the card, this caused a new Weirdware monster to appear, it was smallish and pure white, for arms, they were thin glowing blue cables with white plug bits at the end, on its head were 5 red lens for eyes. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Installer: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect]** **ATK/** 600 **DEF/1300**

"Installer's effect!" he yelled, "Once per turn, I can set 1 Spell or Trap straight from my Deck to my Field!" he said as he took the card from his Deck, then set it, this made a bigger version appear before it faded.

"Appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he declared as the sparked from his hand, into the sky making the Link Portal appear, "Already!?" Go said, "Arrowheads confirmed!" Codebuster said.

"The Summoning condition is 1 Level 5 or higher Weirdware monster!" he said, "I now set Recycler in the Link Marker!" he said, as Recycler turned into an energy beam, that then hit the Bottom Left marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Weirdware Downcool!" he said, appearing from the portal was a dark light blue Weirdware monster, on it's legs below its knees were two panels folded inwards. On its back were two square panels, these panels were like that of a refrigerator door, but there was the cooling part of the cooling system. One of its arms was a freeze ray, at the base of it was a cross made from cylinders. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to his Right.

 **Weirdware Downcool: WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↙

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth!" he said waving his hand over the card, "When I Link Summon, I can immediately Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard to a Monster Zone that a Link Monster I control points to!" he said, "I Summon back Recycler!" he said as the monster appeared back in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"Once more! Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he said again as the portal appeared again, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Weirdware monsters with different Levels!" he said.

"I now set Recycler and Downloader in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters turned into energy beams, and Recycler hit the Middle Top and Downloader the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine!" he shouted, "Link Summon! Appear Link 2 Weirdware Perfect Precision!" he shouted, and appearing from the portal was a new Weirdware monster, it's colour was green military camo. One of its arms was a hi-tech sniper rifle, the chamber for the ammo was cylindrical and small, it was fitted near the elbow joint, where the weapon was connected, it glowed orange, the weapon itself was like an arrow point, but lengthened, on the top was a scope. On either side of its head was a scope, the visor it had had a glowing telescopic mark for the eye. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone that Downcool pointed to.

 **Weirdware Perfect Precision: WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

"I end my turn!" he said, hoping he had done enough to survive.

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

* * *

"Impressive! Codebuster has Link Summoned two Link Monsters in the first turn!" the MC yelled, "Don't let him beat you Go!" Sora shouted, "Good luck Codebuster!" Hiroshi, making Sora glare at him, "What do you think your doing?" Sora growl butting heads with Hiroshi.

"I can support whoever I want!" Hiroshi growled back while the crowd around them dispersed, not wanting to get involved.

* * *

"Interesting Deck there Codebuster… I'm going to enjoy this!" Go said, "My turn! I Draw!" he yelled drawing his card, "I now Normal Summon Gouki Suprex!" he said waving his hand over the card, making Suprex appear in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Suprex:** EARTH, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/1800 DEF/** 0

"Suprex's effect! When Normal Summoned I can Special Summon 1 Gouki from my Hand!" he said, "I Summon Twistcobra!" he said as Twistcobra appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Twistcobra:** EARTH, Level: 3 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/1600 DEF/** 0

"Appear before me! The Mighty Circuit of Strength!" he shouted, "Mighty Circuit of Strength?" Codebuster asked, "Trying something new." Go said, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Gouki monsters!" he said.

"Where's he going with this?" Codebuster muttered, not thinking Go would have a Link 2 monster, "I set Suprex and Twistcobra in the Link Markers!" he said the monsters turned into twisters, Suprex's hit the Middle Left and Twistcobra the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Gouki Jet Ogre!" he shouted, appearing from the portal as a blue and yellow ogre, wearing a bulky looking jet pack, in its right hand was a rapier. It was Summoned the Extra Monster Zone to Go's right, the jetpack starting to ignite as the new flew with Go.

 **Gouki Jet Ogre:** EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] **ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"Your probably wondering why I'm not doing what I did against Playmaker? Simple, you're not Playmaker, and your Deck is still new to the world, I'm going to take you down another way!" Go shouted.

"Good luck with that! Downcool's effect activates!" Codebuster shouted, "When you Special Summon monsters with 2000 or more ATK, they lose 1000 ATK until the end of the turn they are Summoned!" he explained. "Freezing Frostbyte!" he shouted as the panels on Downcool's legs opened and wings glowed, releasing a cold wind at Jet Orge. Jet Ogre's ATK: **2000 – 1000 = 1000**.

"Clever. You were hoping that I would Summon Great Ogre, whose ATK is higher than Jet's but Jet was still affected..." Go said, "Suprex and Twistcobra's effect! When sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add a Gouki card another than themselves!" he said as two cards were ejected from his Deck.

"I set one card!" he said as the card appeared, "Then I activate the Spell, Gouki Re-Match!" he said, "I now Special Summon from my Graveyard, two Gouki monsters with different Levels in Defense!" he said, "Come back Suprex and Twistcobra!" he said as the two appeared again, Suprex in the Right Main Monster Zone, that Jet Ogre pointed to, and Twistcobra in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"Now I activate Twistcobra's effect!" he yelled as Twistcobra glowed green, "Once per turn, I can tribute a Gouki monster…" he said as Suprex burst into particle. "Then I can target another Gouki and it gains ATK equal to the ATK of the tributed monster!" he said. I target Jet Ogre, who gains Suprex's ATK!" he shouted. **1000 – 1800 = 2800**. (Jet Orge)

"Downcool's other effect!" Codebuster said, "When monsters you control gains ATK that is higher than it original ATK while Downcool is linked to a monster, you monster loses ATK equal to half the original ATK of the linked monster!" he explained.

Downcool then aimed his freeze ray at Jet Ogre, "Power Cooldown!" he shouted as icy beam of cold energy from the ray hit Jet Ogre, freezing its body a bit, **2800 – 900 = 1900**. (Jet Orge)

"What a back to back match of strength! Go Onizuka tries to power up his already powerful monster, but Codebuster retaliates by cooling them down!" the MC yelled.

"Now this is interesting..." Go said as he smirked, "Jet Ogre's effect!" he shouted, "Once per turn, I can destroy a Gouki monster that I control!" he said as Twistcobra was destroyed, "Now all monsters on the field are changed into Attack!" he explained shocking Codebuster as Installer was now in Attack, as it was the only monster that could in Defense, as all the other monsters were Link Monsters, that didn't have DEF.

"A 1 vs 3 match!" Go said, making Codebuster think about a wrestling ring again with his three monsters against Jet Ogre.

"Battle! Jet Ogre attacks Installer!" Go shouted, as Jet Ogre charged at Installer, it was so fast as it cut Installer apart, it then exploded. Codebuster's LP: **4000 – 1300 = 2700**.

"Go Onizuka has struck the first blow!" the MC shouted as the kids in the orphanage cheered.

"I end my turn!" Go said, "With it ending, Downcool's effect ends, returning Jet Ogre's ATK to normal" Codebuster said, **1900 = 2000**. (Jet Orge) "I activate the Trap, Weirdware Reboot!" he said as his face-down flipped up. It had an image of Weirdware Rewire on the floor, slightly damage and it's lights were flickering.

"At the end of the turn that Weirdware monsters are destroyed, I can Special Summon them back to the Monster Zones they were in before destruction!" he said as Installer appeared back in the Left Main Monster Zone.

Go's Hand x 3

 **Turn 3**

"Codebuster seems to be at a disadvantage now..." Ai said from Yusaku bedroom, with Yusaku lying down on his bed watching the Duel take place. "Maybe, but he planned for Go to summon a strong monster, even though it sort of failed." Yusaku said.

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card, "Installer's effect!" he said, "I now set one Spell or Trap from my Deck!" he said as the card appeared face-down. "Then I activate the effect of Weirdware Outwatt!" he said revealing a monster in his Hand.

"By revealing this card, I can target 1 Weirdware monster I control, send this card to the Graveyard..." he said sending Outwatt to the Graveyard, "By doing this the targeted monster gains Outwatt's ATK of 1000!" he said, shocking Go.

"My target is Perfect Precision!" he said, Perfect Precision's ATK: **1800 + 1000 = 2800** "Now Recycler's effect!" he said, "Since I sent a card to the Graveyard, it Special Summoned itself!" he said, as Recycler appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone under Downcool.

"Now I activate Replacement's effect!" he said, "I send my last card to the Graveyard, and add the same type of card from my Deck to my Hand!" he said sending his last card which was a Trap, he then added a Trap to his Hand.

"Recycler's effect!" he said, "Once per turn, when cards are sent from my Field or Hand to the Graveyard while its on the field, I can target 1 card in my Graveyard, other than the sent cards, and add it to my Hand!" he said as a card ejected itself from his Graveyard Slot, which he took, it was Downloader.

"Now appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he yelled as a light erupted from his open hand, causing the Link Portal to appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two or more Weirdware monsters!" he said, "I now set the Link 1 Downcool, Installer and Recycler in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters turned into twisters. With Downcool hitting the Middle Top, Recycler the Bottom Left and Installer the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Weirdware Rewire!" he shouted as Rewire appeared, being placed in the Extra Monster Zone that Downcool was in before.

 **Weirdware Rewire: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LM's:** ↙⬆⬇

"That's the monster you used to take down that Hanoi knight!" Go said, having watched the Duel back then.

"I set one more card!" Codebuster said as the card appeared, taking the final Spell and Trap Zone, as there were only three. "Battle! Perfect Precision will attack you directly!" he said shocking Go, "But I control a monster!" Go said.

"True but Perfect Precision can attack you directly for half the battle damage!" Codebuster explained, within a second, Perfect Precision had loaded his rifle, aimed it, and shot Go with an orange beam, knocking Go forward. Go's LP: **4000 – 1400 =2600**.

"That was so fast!" Go got out winded from the attack, he then went to one knee, "Perfect Precision's effect!" he said, Perfect Precision then unloaded the chamber of his arm rifle. "When a Weirdware monster inflicts battle damage to you, I can target 1 other Weirdware monster, it gains ATK equal to the damage you took!" he explained shocking Go further.

"I target Rewire!" he said as Perfect Precision threw the ammo, which was an orb of orange energy, at Rewire, Rewire's ATK: **2200 + 1400 = 3600**.

"Now Rewire will attack Jet Ogre!" he said, as Rewire gained purple energy in its arms, lifted it over his head, and threw it at Jet Ogre, who tried to stop the attack, but it was too much as the Ogre was taken inside the attack and was vaporised. The attack caused an explosion that sent Go flying forward further, he was now on his stomach on the D-Board. **2600 – 1600 = 1000**. (Go)

"No Big Brother!" the kids cried at their champion…

"Oh my! It appears Codebuster relentless attacking has taken down the king!" the MC declared, "He's down for the count, so everybody with me, One!" he said with the crowd joining the count.

"Get up Go!" Sora shouted. From the Living Room of Café Haru was Aito and now Asuka joining him, "Wow this new deck can do pretty much anything..." Aito said, "Two!" the crowd said, but Go didn't stir.

"And Thre-" the MC said, but Go suddenly quickly got up, "And Go has gotten back up!" the MC yelled getting the crowd to cheer, mainly the kids at the orphanage. "Amazing! What a show of power your monster have!" Go said.

"Thanks, you sure did take a tough hit!" Codebuster said, knowing that he was faking that, "Yes… And to tell you the truth, that last attack did actually hurt!" Go said honestly.

"But now that've tasted that power, its awakened my hidden power!" Go said, "My Skill, Fighting Spirit now activates!" he yelled, "All Gouki monsters destroyed this turn are Special Summoned back!" he said as Jet Ogre appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"My turn is over… With it ending, Perfect Precision's effect ends! As well as Outwatt's effects" Codebuster said, **3600 = 2200**. (Rewire) **2800 = 1800** (Perfect Precision)

Codebuster's Hand x 2

 **Turn 4**

"This Duel, is just as amazing as mine against Playmaker..." Go said smiling, his eyes were closed, "But I can go further now!" he said opening his eyes as they narrowed, "My turn! I draw!" he yelled his card.

"Since I control a Gouki monster, I can Normal Gouki Riscorpio without releasing!" he said waving his hand over the card, making Riscorpio appear in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Gouki Riscorpio:** EARTH, Level: 5 [Warrior/Effect] **ATK/2300 DEF/** 0

"Appear! The Mighty Circuit of Strength!" Go shouted, his hand glowed as the Link Portal appeared. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are at least two Gouki monsters!" he said.

"I set the Link 2 Jet Ogre and Riscorpio in the Link Markers!" he shouted, with the monsters turning into twister, Jet Ogre's split into two, with them hitting the Bottom Left, and Middle Bottom, with Riscorpio hitting the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3 Gouki the Great Ogre!" he shouted as the Great Ogre appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Go's right, opposite of Rewire.

 **Gouki the Great Ogre:** EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] **ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬇↘

"Riscorpio's effect! I can add a Gouki card other than itself to my Hand!" he said as he took the ejected card.

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth!" he said, shocking Codebuster, "You're not the only one with that card!" he said, "I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Graveyard to a Main Monster Zone that is linked to a Link Monster I control!" he said.

"I Summon Jet Ogre!" he said as Jet Ogre appeared the Right Main Monster Zone, right under Great Ogre. "Now I activate the Spell, Gouki Re-Match!" he said, "I can now Special Summon 2 Gouki monsters with different Levels in Defense!" he said as Riscorpio and Suprex appeared, Riscorpio in the Left Main Monster Zone, and Suprex in the Middle Main Monster that Jet Ogre pointed to.

"Once more, the Mighty Circuit of Strength!" he shouted as the Link Portal appeared again, "Another!?" Codebuster yelled. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least 3 Gouki Monsters!" Go said shocking Codebuster, Yusaku and everyone else watching.

"I now set the Link 2 Jet Ogre, Riscorpio and Suprex in the Link Markers!" he shouted, with the monsters turning into twisters, with Jet Ogre again splitting into two, they hit the Bottom Left and Bottom Right, and Riscorpio hit the Middle Left and Suprex the Middle Right, turning them red. "4 Link Markers!" Codebuster yelled in shock.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 4! Gouki the Giant Ogre!" Go shouted, and appearing from the portal was a gigantic ogre wearing a fur cape and carrying a large sword. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone that Great Ogre pointed to.

 **Gouki the Giant Ogre:** EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] **ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅↙↘➡

"Whoa..." the kids watching got out in awe, "I activate the effects of the Gouki sent from the field to the Graveyard!" Go said, "Suprex's effect let's me add a Gouki card from my Deck to my Hand other then itself!" he said adding 1 cards to his Hand.

"And Jet Ogre makes all other Gouki monsters I control gain 500 ATK!" he said shocking Codebuster. **26** **00** **\+ 500 = 3100** (Great Orge) Giant Ogre's ATK: **3000 + 500 = 3500**.

"Then I send Moonsault from my Hand to the Graveyard then target Great Ogre..." he said sending the card to the Graveyard. "This then lets me Special Summon Gouki Headbatt from my Hand in Defense!" he said as Headbatt appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone that Great Ogre and Giant Ogre pointed to.

 **Gouki Headbatt: EARTH, Level: 2 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/** 800 **DEF/0**

"And by Special Summoning it like this, Great Ogre gains 800 ATK!" he said, **3100 + 800 = 3900** (Great Orge) "Now Giant Ogre's effect! When it's ATK is different than it's original, it gains 1000 ATK!" he said, shocking Codebuster further. **3500 + 1000 = 4500**. (Giant Orge)

"I didn't know Go Onizuka could be this amazing!" Ai said from the Duel Disk as Go laughed on the screen. "This is because of you Codebuster! And because you pushed me to the limit, I will end this!" Go said. "Bring it!" Codebuster yelled back.

"Battle! Giant Ogre attacks Rewire!" he shouted, "Ogre Sword!" he shouted as Giant Ogre charged at Rewire, who charged a fist of purple energy in his cable arm and charged to punch the incoming sword, causing a burst of wind between the attacks.

"Rewire can't be destroyed by a Link Monster with a Link Rating equal or higher than his Rating!" Codebuster said, "But you'll still take damage!" Go reminded, as the winds pushed Codebuster back far. **2700 – 2300 = 400** (Codebuster)

"Go Onizuka now has Codebuster on the ropes!" the MC declared as Sora cheered along with the kids at the orphanage.

"Codebuster! Thank for you for pushing me this far!" Go said smiling, "Battle! Great Ogre attacks Perfect Precision!" he declared. As Great Ogre swung his halberd, "Ogre Axe!" he shouted as Great Ogre swung down at the monster, slicing it in half and causing an explosion, said explosion swept over Codebuster.

"It's been settled folks! Go Onizuka, after his lost to Playmaker has come back up top by defeating Codebuster!" the MC said. With the fans and kids cheering at this.

"I can't believe Codebuster lost..." Ai said, "No… he's still in this." Yusaku said as they watched the screen where the smoke from the explosion was still there.

"Impossible!" Go said, as the smoked cleared, revealing Codebuster still there, **400 = 400** (Codebuster). "But you should've taken 2100 damage from Great Ogre!" Go added.

"I would've… If I hadn't activated my Trap, Damage Denser!" Codebuster said as the card was revealed, it showed an energy attack, being nullified by a single smaller beam.

"I activated this card after I took the first lot damage!" he explained, "With it's effect, all damage, battle or effect is reduced to 0 for the rest of the turn!" he said shocking the crowd. "Clever! You knew you'd survive first damage, but couldn't if I attacked again…" Go said.

"That was the card you set with Installer's effect?" Go said, "Correct! Handy little monster, huh?" Codebuster said back as Go laughed, "I end my turn! With it ending, Great Ogre and Giant Ogre's ATK return to normal!" he said, **39** **00 = 2600** (Great Orge), **4500 = 3000**. (Giant Orge)

Go's Hand x 1

 **Turn 5**

"I hope Matoyia can make it out of this..." Aito said concerned for Codebuster "Don't worry, he'll pull himself right out of this!" Asuka reassured him. " _I hope..._ " she thought.

"Codebuster, like Playmaker, let's see if you can get out of this like he did!" Go said, "Right, here goes..." Codebuster said, placing his fingers near the card he was to draw. "My turn!..." he said, " I draw!" he yelled drawing his card.

…

"I activate the Spell, Arrow Charge!" he said, "When there are two Link Monsters with the Same Link Rating in the Extra Monster Zones, I draw two cards, but I have to reveal them..." he drew 2 cards, with a screen appearing on Go's Duel Disk.

"Then I Normal Summon Downloader!" he said as Downloader appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone under Rewire, which pointed to it. "Great Ogre's effect! Ogre Pressure!" Go shouted as Great Ogre roared. Downloader's ATK: **1600 – 1000 = 600**.

"Downloader's effect when linked to a Link Monster! All Weirdware monsters gain 100 ATK for every one I control!" he said. **2200 + 200 = 2400** (Rewire), **600 + 200 = 800**. (Downloader)

"Then I activate the Spell, Rating Assault!" he shouted, appearing on the field was the card, which had an image of a Link 3 monster, and another monster, the other monster was making three attacks.

"I can activate this Spell when I control a Link 2 or 3 Link Monster!" he said, which he did. "I can target 1 monster I control, it can make multiple attacks times the Link Rating of the Link Monster I control!" he said.

"I target Downloader! Who can now attack three times!" he said, "Now I activate Rewire's effect!" he said as the cable arm of Rewire plugged itself into Downloader, "I can target a monster it points to and half its ATK!" he shouted, **800 = 400**. (Downloader)

"But if you control that monster, if that monster battles my monsters, they are destroyed instead, and I take the battle damage." Go said, remembering the effect from Codebuster duel against the Knight of Hanoi.

"Correct… But I now activate the Equip-Spell, Weirdware Feedback Shielding!" Codebuster shouted as the card appeared, as show Rewire being enveloped by a white shield.

"I send 1 card on my Field or in my Hand to the Graveyard..." he said sending Replacement to the Graveyard, "Then I can equip this card onto Downloader!" he said as Downloader was enveloped by a white energy shield made of hexagons.

"When the equipped monster battles, neither one of us will take battle damage!" he explained confusing them all, "Why do that?" Go said, looking at the Gouki Outstretch in his Hand, it should reduce the damage he took by half once by sending it to the Graveyard.

"Battle! Downloader attack Giant Orge!" Codebuster declared as the Weirdware monster took off to fight the giant, who swung his sword over his head and swung it down, Downloader then punched the sword, for a few moments the attacks clashed, but Rewire appeared and helped its follow monster, and pushed the sword back, knocking the giant over, and destroying it due to Rewire's effect.

"Due to Feedback's effect, neither of us take battle damage..." Codebuster said, "Incredible! Giant Orge has been knocked out by a monster weaker and smaller than it!" the MC said in shock. "Again, attack Headbatt!" Codebuster ordered as Downloader than charged at Headbatt, giving it an uppercut, destroying it, but it was in Defense, so no damage would've been dealt.

"Headbatt's effect let's me add a Gouki card from my Deck to my Hand!" Go said, adding a card to his Hand.

"And finally take out Great Ogre!" he said, as Downloader then charged at Great Ogre, "Ogre Axe!" Go shouted, knowing that Great Ogre would be destroyed, but he got into the fight. Great Ogre swung his halberd down at Downloader, who caught it, and gave the Ogre a gut punch, making it kneel over.

"Seeing that Great Ogre doesn't point to a monster, it's destroyed!" Codebuster shouted as Great Ogre exploded.

"Now Feedback's other effect!" Codebuster declared throwing his arm out, "After the equipped monster has finished battling, you now take damage equal to the battle damage either of us would've taken from those battles!" he explained.

This news shocked Go, who had two Octostretchs in his Hand, they could also half effect damage, but the total damage he would take was too much for two halvings of damage.

"Go Feedback!" Codebuster yelled as a beam of energy from the shield made its way over to Go, sending him flying, **1000 – 4800 = 0** (Go)

"And that is that..." Codebuster said grinning, having enjoyed himself.

Codebuster: **WINS**

Go Onizuka: **LOSE**

"That's it folks, we've had two amazing Duels with Go Onizuka today, Playmaker the winner of the first, and now Codebuster!" the MC yelled as the crowd roared with excitement, having watched an amazing Duel not once but twice in one day.

"Codebuster was cool!" a kid at the orphanage said, "Still Go was amazing!" another said, the care taker seeing this smiled, " _They're complimenting both..._ " she thought.

Back with Go, he was now on a rooftop on his back, his eyes closed, he felt a shadow over him, so he opened his eyes to see Codebuster standing over him, who offered him a hand to get up, this made him smile, and then take the offer to get up.

"Thank for you for an amazing Duel!" Go said, "Not problem..." Codebuster said smiling, "And because it was amazing for me…" he said, then held out his hand, where a cluster of green data was gathered.

"Here… the money I offered!" he said, shocking Go, "But I lost…" he said, "True… but I was actually going to pay for the info even if I did lose." Codebuster explained, making Go smile as he took the data, "Thank you..." he said slowly, his opinion of this Bounty Hunter had changed.

"Now onto who gave you that program." Codebuster said, "I know it was someone from SOL, but who?" he said, "Akira Zaizen!" Go said to him, shocking him, "The security manager!? Why did he give you it?!" he asked.

"He hoped for me to defeat Playmaker and hand the AI over to him when I won it..." Go said, " _So Akira is also after the Ignis, meaning Bishop may have ordered him to collect it as well, I knew he couldn't be trusted..._ " Codebuster thought annoyed.

"Thank you for this..." he said as he turned to leave, "Wait!" Go said, "What?" he asked, "Maybe we could duel again sometime..." Go said, "Sure… I'd like that!" he said, "Good. Because next time, I'm going to win, just like when I Duel Playmaker again!" Go said clenching a fist in challenge.

"I look forward to that. Later!" Codebuster said as he logged out, leaving a smiling Go, who too then logged out...

* * *

 **The Knights of Hanoi Base (16:32 PM)**

"What did you want to discuss Revolver?" Valcry asked, she, Talon, Baira, Faust and Dr Genome were standing around Revolver, with Spectre by his side.

Baira was a woman of 30 with short garnet and orange hair, on one side of her face was an eye piece like that of the Hanoi mask, but elegant. She was wearing a similar outfit to the rest.

Faust was a man of 32, with short blue hair, he too was wearing an eyepiece like Baira, he too wore similar clothing to the rest.

There was Dr Genome, who was 35, had spiky green hair, he too wore a similar eyepiece and clothing to Faust. He seemed to have a mischievous grin on his face.

"We need to discuss Codebuster's Deck..." he said, as videos of Codebuster's Duels over the past few days appeared, "They seem to diverse in some their effects." he said as the cards for the Weirdware Deck appeared on the screen,

"Fascinating..." Dr Genome said looking at the cards, "How on earth did he get this Weirdware Deck? There is no recording of them ever being created." Faust asked, "Is it possible that the Ignis created a secret archetype that we didn't know about?" Baira asked.

"Possibly… After all the Ignis did keep to themselves before we started attacking them 5 years ago..." Valcry said, "What do you think Talon?" Spectre asked, "Don't really care to be honest..." he muttered, making Baira look at him.

"You should if you want our help with your problem!" she said coldly to him, "Nevermind, our top priority is Playmaker! We can talk about this Weirdware Deck later, anyone have ideas on how to get Playmaker out and about, besides sending knights out to be taken out?" Revolver asked.

For a while, no one could answer, "We drop our morals!" a voice said from the shadows, this made the lot look to see someone step out of the shadows.

The person was a man of 19, standing at 5'8ft, he wore the same clothing as the grunt knight, but its colour was black instead, his mask covers both his eyes and was dark purple, with lens were red and narrow, around the edge of the mask were dark pink spikes. His hair was also dark pink that was spiked up with violet highlights.

"Vire… good to see you again!" Revolver said smiling, while the others frowned at him except Spectre, not having a liking to Vire. "Sorry it took me so long… but life got in the way." Vire said, his voice laced with venom.

"What did you mean drop our morals?" Baira asked, suspicious, "Simple, we do what we usually don't do..." he said back, "If Playmaker sees that someone has been taken hostage, he'll surely come to face one of us!" he said.

"And if you'd allow it, I'll take the bullet!" he said bowing to Revolver, "Are you really going to let him do what he wants?" Faust asked him disgust, hoping Revolver would reject his idea. "Very well..." Revolver said.

"I shall allow you to do this, but only on a civilian, SOL Technologies would heighten security if we got a hold of one of them." he said.

"Thank you Master..." Vire said, smirking at the reactions of the others, minus Spectre, who liked him, "By the way, what do you think we should do about Codebuster?" Revolver asked. "Distract him… He'll go for money, if we make a contract for him to go after someone we choose, he'll be out of the way." Vire said.

"Makes sense, with Codebuster away, we would only have to deal with Playmaker at the time." Valcry said, hating to agree with the man.

"Glad that we can agree on something together!" Spectre said, feeling joy at the rest reacting to Vire's suggestion. "Spectre, go and create a contract for Codebuster, you'd be able to find his contact number through SOL Technologies, contact Ares if you need to." Revolver ordered.

"Yes, Revolver-sama!" Spectre said as he teleported away, "You three, continue your work on Project Another!" he told Baira, Faust and Dr Genome, who bowed and also teleported away, "You three!" he said to Valcry, Talon and Vire.

"I want your three to study what we have on Codebuster and Playmaker's Duels..." he said, "Yes sir!" they said with a bow, "Good, I'll be leaving you to it!" he said as he logged out… "Don't get any ideas Vire, we still don't like you!" Valcry immediately said to him after Revolver left.

"Oh, you hurt my feeling… not!" he spat back, "Stop it you two, let's just go over this, the sooner this is over, the quicker I can leave..." Talon said, "Fine!" the two said as they went to watch the Duels...

* * *

 **Yui's apartment, (20:21 PM)**

Lounging about in her apartment was Yui Funai, who now had a cast on her right leg, she was wearing her Pj's seeing that she was confined to her apartment for a couple of weeks… So far she was going nuts and it had only been one day.

On the plus side, she got to stay at home, were she did most of her work… which was playing games with her other friends, and publishing the videos on Youtube. She of course had a day job, but couldn't do that now.

"God, when are they getting here?" she said to herself watching TV while she waited for Matoyia, Sora and Hiroshi to get to hers. "Why? Why? Did I have to break my leg in Link VRAINS!?" she said face palming herself.

Yui, while in Link VRAINS went by the name Stratos… to herself was a hero, that had injured herself while Dueling against the Knight of Hanoi, Ares. She was humiliated by said knight, as she hadn't dealt any damage to the guy.

Upon her defeat she was forced logged out, and had suffered the strain the damage dealt to her while in the system, most pain was in her right leg.

 ***Ding Dong!*** The doorbell went off, "Come in!" she shouted, the door opened and walking in was Matoyia, Sora and Hiroshi, Matoyia was holding a bag with Cafe Haru on the side, Sora had some DVD's on him, and Hiroshi had some drinks on him.

"Hey!" she said to them, "Hey!" they said back, "Sorry it took a while, but I made us some takeaway… if you haven't eaten." Matoyia said holding the bag up, "I brought some movies that we'll all love!" Sora said.

"And I brought some drinks… for obvious reason!" Hiroshi said, "Thanks for doing this guys..." she said sitting up as they got everything ready. "That's alright, you did seem upset about not going to the movies earlier..." Matoyia said.

"Right what shall we watch first?" Sora asked setting the DVD player up, "I've got Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and a comedy for Yui!" he said.

"Star Wars, it never gets old!" Matoyia shouted, "I want the comedy!" Yui said, "Lord of the Rings..." Hiroshi said, "Maybe I should've brought just one..." Sora said with a sweat drop, as the three argued what to watch…

End of Chapter 4

* * *

 **Vire was created by OPFan37, his real life counterpart will come later… Also there is only 1 slot lefted for Season 1 (A Knight of Hanoi) and the people who have a slot are, for the 4 for whatever they want are I0-Hopeful Heart Dragon with AnDru Plast. Ghost83 with their character who will be seen soon. BladeKnightmare will their character who will also be seen soon. And Assassinkai742 with their character who will also be seen later.**

 **The 3 Knights of Hanoi so far are Ares/Mars from And then the Sky, Talon from Crow38 and of course mentioned above, Vire from OPFan37.**

 **Codebuster's OC cards**

 **Weirdware** **Installer**

 **EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/600 DEF/1300**

Set 1 Spell or Trap from your Deck to a Spell or Trap Zone, but that card cannot be activated the turn it's set with this effect. If this card is linked to a Link Monster: (Quick Effect) Should a Spell or Trap you control be negated or destroyed by a card effect your opponent's card effect, it is not. You can only activate each of "Weirdware Installer" once per turn.

 **Weirdware Outwatt**

 **LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/500**

You can reveal this in your Hand: Target 1 "Weirdware" monster you control, send this card to your GY; until the end of the turn, that targeted monster gains ATK equal to this card's ATK. If this card is linked to a "Weirdware" Link Monster: That monster gains 1000 ATK when battling a monster. (during damage calculation) You can only activate the effects of 1 "Weirdware Outwatt" once per turn.

 **Weirdware Feedback Shielding**

 **Equip-Spell**

Send 1 card on your Field or in your Hand to the GY: Equip this card onto a "Weirdware" or Cyberse-Type monster you control. As long as this card is equipped to that monster: Neither player takes battle damage from battles involving the equipped monster, then after the equipped monster has battled: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total battle damage either you or your opponent would've taken from battle(s) involving the equipped monster

 **Replacement**

 **Continious Spell**

Once per turn, send 1 card in your Hand to your GY: Add 1 card from your Deck that is the same type as the sent card. When this card is destroyed: Shuffle this card from your GY into your Deck; draw 2 cards.

 **Rating Assault**

 **Normal Spell**

You can only activate this card if you control a Link 2 or 3 Link Monster: Target 1 monster you control, If can attack up as many time as the Link Rating of a Link Monster that you control. You can only activate 1 "Rating Assault" once per turn.

 **Weirdware Reboot**

 **Normal Trap**

At the end of the turn that "Weirdware" monsters are destroyed: Special Summon them back to the Monster Zones they were in before being destroyed. When this card is in the GY: When a "Weirdware" Spell or Trap is destroyed: Banish this card, Set that destroyed card face-down in your Spell and Trap Zone.

 **Damage Denser**

 **Normal Trap**

During either turn, you take damage from battle or a card effect, you can activate this card: All Battle damage and effect damage your take after this card is activated is reduced to 0 for the rest of turn.

 **Weirdware Downcool**

 **WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↙

1 Level 5 or higher "Weirdware" monster

This card cannot be destroyed as long at it points to a monster. When your opponent Special Summons monster(s) with 2000 ATK or more: Those monster(s) lose 1000 ATK until the end of the turn they are Summoned. Once per turn, (Quick Effect) when your opponent's monster(s) ATK is higher than its original ATK, while this card points to a monster: Those monsters lose ATK equal to half the original ATK of the monster this card points until the end of the turn.

 **Weirdware Perfect Precision**

 **WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

2 "Weirdware" monsters with different Levels

This card can attack your opponent directly, but battle damage if halved if it does. Once per turn, when battle damage has been dealt to your opponent by a "Weirdware" monster: (Quick Effect) Target 1 "Weirdware" monster you control (including this card) that monster gains ATK equal to the battle damage your opponent took. Once per turn, if a monster this card points to inflicts battle damage to your opponent: That monster can declare a second attack, but battle damage is halved.


	5. Chapter 5: Double Hanoi Attack!

**Welcome to chapter 5, this one will showcase both Talon and Vire's Decks… Along with their real life counter parts… Anyways, on with the show!**

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or Speaking from TV_ "

* * *

 **Café Haru, (12:13 AM)**

It had been a couple of days since Codebuster and Go Onizuka had duelled one another, during this time Link VRAINS's security was back to normal, with Duelist happy about this, as they could now go back to the virtual world to duel… even though they could've outside of it. But they prefered it to the outer world.

However, with the Data Storm around, it was rumored that SOL Technologies was going to shut down the server to redesign it completely.

"Would you like a refill?" Matoyia asked a customer at their table which was in a corner by the window, holding a large round coffee mug in one hand. "Yes please..." a woman of 18 said looking at the book in her hands. She had long garnet and orange hair that reached her shoulders and her eyes were green. And she was wearing a black sleeveless top with a green snake on it, as well as short light blue jeans and black trainers.

"One sec..." he said pouring some coffee into her cup, "Thanks..." she said not looking away from her book, "Your welcome..." he said, but paused, "Err, what's your name?" he asked, "Akane Yamamoto..." she said, again looking right at her book.

"Alright Akane, I'll leave you to your own." he said as he walked back to the counter, "Thank you..." she said, not realising he had already lefted. " _Wow, she's sure isn't social..._ " Matoyia thought glancing back at her quickly.

He then got behind the counter and put the mug back and went to man the counter as Asuka was out back just dealing with a delivery. " _Now onto a new problem..._ " he thought, thinking back to what he managed to retrieve during Go's Duel against Playmaker, which was part of the IP of his ally.

He had yet to use it to contact him, they probably knew he managed to retrieve it, and were just waiting for him to use it, that way they could get his IP, thus knowing where he was. He couldn't take that risk.

" _Either I can go and find out where the actual location is or try and hack their systems, but knowing them it may be to_ _o_ _advanced… I'll have to create something to make it easier..._ " he thought.

" _Still another thing that came about, was that I became friend_ _s_ _with_ _a celebrity._ " he thought, thinking about Go Onizuka, who like he said, he'd come back from time to time, that had happened two days ago. "I wonder if he'll come back again..." he muttered to himself, suddenly the bell on the door rang. He looked to the doorway to see Mars walking in.

"Hey Mars!" he said to him, unlike last time that Mars was here, he was wearing his suit, but now he was wearing a silver jacket, grey shirt, black trousers and white trainers. "Hey Matoyia!" he said back, smiling.

"Hey Mars!" Asuka said as she walked into the room from the back, "Hey Asuka!" he said to her, "Hey Asuka, can I take my break now? I want to catch up with Mars." Matoyia said, "Sure!" she said as she went behind the counter, while Matoyia took off his apron. "What do you want?" he asked Mars.

"Coffee." he said as he sat down at a vacant table. A few minutes later, Matoyia sat down with a coffee for each of them as well as a small slice of cake for them each, "You owe me!" he said making Mars grin.

"So how have you been?" he asked, "Fine, work as usual, I've only got today off until the next time." he said, 30 minutes later with the two catching up what the other did in the real life, not that they knew the others virtual life. The News channel was now reporting on SOL Technologies, with mostly everyone watching it, apart from Akane.

On the screen in front of the SOL Technology building, standing behind a podium was Akira Zaizen as some reporters with microphones in their hands. To the side of Akira was a man of 19 wearing a dark blue business suit with a white tie. His eyes were a soft sky blue, his hair was brown and swept back, he had a streak emerald green, part of it formed a bang that framed his face. He just stood to the side quietly.

" _Mr Zaizen! Is it true that Link VRAINS will be shutting down to be renewed?_ " one reported asked, " _Yes. Due to the Data Storm return, Link VRAINS will be shut down to make use of the new occurrence._ " Akira said.

" _Is the security back to normal?_ " another asked, " _Yes, hopefully Hanoi should not be able to get past this time._ " he said while Mars rolled his eyes, unaware that Matoyia was doing the same, " _Not like that will stop them/us._ " Matoyia and Mars thought in that order.

" _When will the renovations take place?_ " another asked, " _In about 2 months time, the process shouldn't take no longer than a mouth_!" Akira said, " _What was SOL looking for when they did the city wide scan in Link VRAINS?_ " another asked.

" _That's is classified!_ _No more questions!_ " he said as he turned to leave with the man to the side following him, with this making the feed go back the studio.

"Well that was fast..." Matoyia muttered, "Yeah..." Mars asked, "So anyways, what's your view on Hanoi?" Matoyia asked, "Just a bunch of terrorist with no lives..." Mars said, "Have you heard the rumors about some of them?" Matoyia asked.

"Not much, besides their names..." Mars lied, not that his friend knew, "There's this Talon guy, he seems a bit of a coo coo, to name himself after a bird's foot..." he said, inwardly smirked as he poked fun of his fellow knight.

"Valcry, who sounds like a bitc-" he went to say, "Valcry? I haven't heard of that one." Matoyia said, "Oh, you have to look really deep for that one..." Mars said quickly, "What about this Ares guy, he must have a big ego on him." Matoyia said.

"What gives you that idea?" Mars said, hiding his annoyance at his friend for that little insult, "He must have a huge ego if he named himself after a greek god of war..." he explained, "True..." Mars lied.

"Something wrong?" Matoyia asked, but before Mars could answer, the door opened, and walking in was Go Onizuka, "It's Go Onizuka!" a random customer said, making them all look at Go, "Hey Matoyia!" Go said as Matoyia stood up to greet him, making Mars sigh in relief.

"Hey Go, meet my friend Mars Volturnus!" Matoyia introducing the two, who shook hands, "Pleasure to meet you!" Mars said, "Like wise!" Go said back, "Hey Go! Would you like some Ramen?" Asuka said from the counter, "Yes please!" Go said licking his lips as he walked over to the counter. "Can't believe that Go comes here now." Matoyia muttered.

"Me either..." Mars said, secretly thankful that Matoyia was now distracted from his concern over him… " _Still wonder what the other knights are doing?_ " Mars thought…

* * *

 **Den City Studios, Paper and Website Room, (13: 45 PM)**

Within this area of the Studio were people working on the Paper and Online Website editions for the news that was covered, the paper and website also had many more bits added into it, to make it more unique to the TV covered version.

Such bits included crosswords, a sudoku, as well as some nice pictures of wildlife, some were mostly about birds… speaking off.

"Wow! These pictures are beautiful!" a female co-worker said to her male co-worker, leaning over the cubical that he was in, watching his computer as he put up the photos he took.

"Thanks!" he said, this man was Hayato Tsubasa, age 21, he had shaggy dusty blonde hair, that swept over his right eye, which were grey, his skin is slightly tanned, he had 4 freckles on each side of his face. His clothing consisted of a black denim jacket that was lefted open, under the jacket was a white t-shirt, the bottom part was a pair of blue jeans and black tennis shoes. He usually wears a blue camera bag on his left hip, but that was on his table as his camera was plugged into the computer.

"So where did you take these?" she asked, looking at a picture of a pacific diver resting on a lake within the Den City National Park, the setting was at sunset, which made the picture more perfect. "How do you do it?" she asked.

"Timing, and the right place and setting… that and the camera helps!" Hayato said, patting his trusty camera. "So..." she said slyly, "What are you doing after this?" she asked flirty, making him stop for a moment, "Busy..." he said.

"Aww..." she whined, "Listen, I don't want to be rude, but I need to get back to this..." he said as he started to type again, "Alright, see ya later." she said walking back to her cubical. This left him to his thoughts.

" _Good, the sooner I can finish this page, the sooner I can get out of here..._ " he thought putting more pictures on the page. " _Let's see,_ _on my way home, I need to pick up_ _some groceries, go through the park for some other picture..._ " he added, then looked at a picture of him with his little sister.

" _And make a visit to see her..._ " he thought sad…

* * *

 **Den City Hospital (17:58 PM)**

"Hello again Mr Tsubasa! Are you here to your sister?" a woman behind the counter asked as Hayato stepped into the Hospital, with a bag of groceries in one hand and the other some flowers, which were Miku's favourties.

"Yeah..." he said slowly, "She's been moved recently, as the room she was in was needed for isolating a patient!" she told him, "She now on the third floor, 4 room to the left!" she said, "Thanks!" he said making his way to the room.

About 5 minutes later, he was standing outside the room, usually when he came here, he would take a breather before going in. He opened the door, closed it behind him and turned to meet Miku… in a coma lying down in the bed.

"Hey Miku..." he softly said sitting down on the chair next to the bed. This was Miku Tsubasa, Hayato's little sister, who had been in a coma for about a year. She would stand at 5'5ft if she was awake, her skin was fair, and she had short reddish-chestnut, and like her brother, she had a bang over her right eye. "How have you been doing?" he asked, not expecting a reaction from her, but it helped to try.

"Good news, I've got new photos to show you when you wake up." he said, again no reaction, "I hope dad hasn't been here..." he said growling softly.

Hayato hasn't seen his father ever since Miku was put into the coma… as he was reason why she is like she is now. Their father was a researcher working at SOL Technologies, he was working on a computer virus of some kind, the first person that suffered from this was Miku when she was in Link VRAINS.

Because of this, and the fact that their father wasn't around most of the time, even after their mother died when Hayato was 15 and Miku was 8, Hayato held a strong hatred for said father, and SOL Technologies. His father however has disappeared, and hasn't been heard from since.

So Hayato had to take care of both himself and Miku for the next 5 years until the coma, during which he he taught not only himself how to Duel but also her, he even took a part time job at the Den City Studio to help pay rent and food for them.

"I know you probably can't hear me, but you need to know that I'll do everything in my power to get you out of this..." he said but lied slighty, as he needed outside power to help him… Speaking of said power.

The door to the room suddenly opened, making him look back to see someone he also disliked, she was a woman of 30 with short garnet and orange hair, her eyes were a dark grey, she wore a white coat, meaning she was a doctor for the building.

"Dr Taki, is there something you need to do?" Hayato asked, not really a fan of her either, due to other reasons. "Not really, just going over some charts for Miku here." she said going over her clip board.

"But seeing that you're here, I want to talk to you about something… personal." she said, he knew what she meant about personal. "What does he want me to do?" he asked closing his eyes in defeat.

"Glad you know that you need us to help your sister wake up… Talon!" she said smiling. Yes, Hayato was known as Talon within Link VRAINS, making him a Knight of Hanoi… the only reason for being said knight was that Baira, who was Dr Taki's Pseudonym in Link VRAINS, had approached him a week after Miku fell into the coma.

She had promised that she would help his sister out of the coma, as long he helped her and Hanoi in their mission to destroy the Ignis and Cyberse. Having no idea how to help his sister by himself, he accepted her purposal.

"Tonight, SOL Technologies is about to test an AI that is capable of Duelling, Revolver wants you to take it out." she said, "That all?" he asked narrowing his eyes, "Yes… That will be all, your visiting time is almost over." she said.

Having heard this, Hayato got up from the chair, and made his way to the door, "By the way..." he asked, "What exactly are you doing with the sample you collected from my sister, besides trying to cure her?" he asked as he knew that she collected a sample of the virus that caused this.

"You'll find out eventually..." she said, "Please leave." she said turning back to Miku's bed. He gritted his teeth and lefted…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, Desert Area, (21: 56 PM)**

"Is everything ready!?" an annoying loud voice said from the control room of SOL Technologies as they were watching from screen, on the screen was a layout of a Master Duel, with two people facing each other.

"Yes Kitamura Sir!" one of the operators said to Kitamura, who was a man of 34, had short black and lavander curled hair, squinted eyes and a huge nose, he was the annoying loud voice, but no one ever told him this as they would be fired, due to him being the head of the Research and Development of SOL Technologies, how he managed to get this job is unclear.

"Good! Now being the testing of our very first AI Duelist!" Kitamura shouted, as he stared at the screen again, standing there was what appeared to be an alien like Duelist, it was light blue in overall colour. And the bubble like helmet was redish. This was AI-A. It's opponent was a security worker for SOL Technologies, who had offered to help test for AI.

"Commencing Duel!" an operator said as AI-A came to live, "Now let's see how well my 100% AI Duelist will handle!" Kitamura said with glee, "Doesn't he mean ours, we were the ones that made it for him?" a co-worker whispered to their co-worker. "Shh! If you say that outloud, he'll fire you!" the second whispered back.

On the screen, both the AI and the Security guard raised their Duel Disk… but then an alarm went off, "What's going on!?" Kitamura yelled, "Someone has entered the area!" an operator said, "But this area was restricted for our test, they shouldn't be able to get pass!" he yelled back annoyed.

"Who in their right mind would try and challenge-" he went to say, but stopped when he saw who was now on the screen, it was a knight of Hanoi on a D-Board, due to the Data Storm flowing around the area. "It's that Talon guy from Hanoi!" he yelled in shock.

"What are you doing here?" the security guard asked, "Just destroying this abomination..." Talon said, as he charged up a ball of dark energy, and threw it at the AI, ripping a hole through its chest, that then made it explode.

"AI-A has been destroyed!" the operator said, "No! My hard work ruined!" Kitamura cried out, "Don't just look at me, make sure he can't escape!" he quickly ordered, "Yes Sir!" they said as they typed away.

"Mission accomplished..." Talon said as he turned the board around to leave, "Halt!" the security guard shouted, as he jumped into the air, where a D-Board appeared, a gift from the operators, to catch the intruder.

"Don't you go anywhere, you'll need to come with me for questioning!" the guard ordered, "No, and I would like to see you try." Talon said.

"Fine then! Activate the protocol!" the guard asked the operators, who complied as a red barrier appeared just before Talon could escape, making him turn left to avoid hitting it, "This barrier will not let you leave, until we've duelled." the guard said.

"If you're so willing to be defeated, then I won't object." Talon said as they surfed along the Data Storm Stream, which had now start to circulate around the barrier.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing 4 cards each.

Security Guard's LP: **4000**

Talon's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I shall go first!" the guard said, "First I activate the Field Spell, B.E.F Zelos!" he said waving his hand over the card, causing the card to appear on the field. "When this card is activated, I can add a Boss Rush from my Deck to my Hand!" he said taking the card from his Deck when it was ejected.

"Since I control no monsters, I can Normal Summon B.E.S Big Core MK-2 with tributing!" he said waving his hand over the card, causing a giant silver and red battle cruiser to appear, it was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **B.E.S Big Core MK-2: FIRE, Level: 6 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 1100

"Zelos's effect! When a B.E.S monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I can place 1 counter on it!" he said, MK-2's Counter Count: **0 + 1 = 1**. "Also all B.E.S monsters gains 500 ATK and DEF!" MK-2's ATK/DEF: **2400/** 1100 **\+ 500/500 = 2900/** 1600.

"They also cannot be targeted for card effects you activate, or be destroyed by said card effects!" he said smirking. "Then with Zelos's other effect, once per turn, I can Special Summon a B.E.S monster from my Hand!" he said.

"So now I Special Summon B.E.S Assault Core!" he said waving his hand over the card, making a smaller battle cruiser with a blue light core in the middle of it, orbiting it were two small devices, it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **B.E.S Assault Core: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 2000 **= 1800/** _2500_.

"Since it was Summoned, it gains 1 Counter per Zelos's effect!" he said, Assault Core's Counter Count: **0 + 1 = 1**.

"Now appear! The circuit that leads to the unknown!" he declared, causing the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two B.E.S monsters!" he said, "I now set Assault Core and MK-2 in the Link Markers!" he shouted, as the two monsters turned into twisters, with Assault Core hitting the Bottom Left and MK-2 hitting the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine!" Link Summon! Link 2! B.E.S Big Core Galactic Cruiser!" he shouted, appearing the portal, that had to grow bigger, was a colossal battleship, it was armed with hi-tech cannons, at the front of the long ship, it was split in two as there was a purple energy core resting in between it. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to his Right.

 **B.E.S Big Core Galactic Cruiser: DARK [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 = 2500 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

When Galactic Cruiser is Special Summoned, it gains 3 counters, as well as one from Zelos!" he said, Galactic Cruiser's Counter Count: **0 + 3 + 1 = 4**.

"Then I place 1 card face down and end my turn!" he said as the card appeared on the field, then faded.

Security Guard's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"Let's get this over with..." Talon said, "My Turn! I Draw!" he drew his card, "I Normal Summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius!" he said placing the card on the blade of his Duel Disk, making a green and dark purple mechanical bird to appear, on it chest was a crest symbol. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius: DARK, Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 1600

"When Vanishing Lanius is Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Raidraptor from my Hand!" he said, "I now Summoned Raidraptor - Skull Eagle!" he said, again placing the card onto his blade, making a new mechanical bird, this time with white on its body to appear, it was placed in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Raidraptor - Skull Eagle: DARK, Level: 3 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/** 1000 **DEF/500**

"Now I activate the Spell, Raidraptor Call!" he said, "I can target 1 Raidraptor I control, and Special Summon from my Hand or Deck a monster with the same name as the target in DEF!" he said, "I target Skull Eagle!" he said as a second Skull Eagle appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, in Defense.

"Come forth! The Circuit that leads to the path of Revolution!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared. "Arrowheads confirmed!" The Summoning condition is 1 Raidraptor monster!" he said, "I set Vanishing Lanius in the Link Marker!" he shouted, as Vanishing Lanius, turned into a twister on metal feathers and it the Middle Bottom Marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Raidraptor - Recruit Strix!" he shouted, as appearing from the portal was an owl like mechanical monster, it was brown and black in colour, and the feathers on the wings were made of yellow energy. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Talon's right.

 **Raidraptor - Recruit Strix: DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/500 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

* * *

"Raidraptor? Wasn't that Deck used a long time ago?" an operator asked their co-worker to their left, "Yeah, I think it was used during that-" they went to reply, but- "Shut up and monitor the Duel or you're fired!" Kitamura shouted at them, "Sorry Sir!" they quickly said.

* * *

"Recruit Strix's effect!" Talon shouted, "Once per turn, when I control no monster in the zone that it points to, I can Special Summon 1 Raidraptor from my Deck in Defense!" he said, "I now Summon Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius!" he said as a Dragon like mechanical bird, that was light blue and green and silver to appear in the Right Main Monster Zone that Recruit Strix pointed to.

 **Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius: DARK, Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/** 1000 **DEF/** **1000**

"Then I activate it's effect! Once per turn, I can inflict 600 damage to you!" he said the dragon like monster breathed fire at the security guard. Security Guard's LP: **4000 – 600 = 3400**.

"Again! The Circuit that leads to the path of Revolution!" he shouted again as the Link Portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Raidraptor monsters!" he said. "I now set the Link 1 Recruit Strix and Napalm Dragonius in the Link Markers!".

This caused the two to turn into twisters of their colours, with Recruit Strix hitting the Middle Bottom and Dragonius the Bottom Left, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Raidraptor - Cryptic Falcon!" he shouted, this time appearing from the portal was a slightly bigger monster, like the others, this one was mechanic, it's colouring was a chrome purple. On its head, which was flat, was a screen, that had the Raidraptor crest on it. Just under the screen on either side of it head were two green hi tech narrow eyes. It's beak was brass. It's wings were like Recruit Strix's but longer, and the wing frame was sharpened. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone that Recruit was in before.

 **Raidraptor - Cryptic Falcon: DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙⬇

"Cryptic Falcon's effect! When Link Summoned, I can target cards in your Graveyard up to the number of Raidraptor monsters it points to, and banish them!" he said, "Cryptic Falcon points to a Skull Eagle, so I now banish MK-2 from your Graveyard!" he said as the guard's Duel Disk told him that the card was now banished.

"Then for every card banished by this effect, Cryptic Falcon and the Skull Eagle it points to gain 200 ATK until the end of the turn!" he said, Cryptic Falcon's ATK: **1600 + 200 = 1800** , Skull Eagle's ATK: **1000 + 200 = 1200**.

"And now I Overlay the two Level 3 Skull Eagle!" he shouted, causing the advanced Network to appear behind him, "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" the two Skull Eagle broke down into data, and were absorbed into the red parts, causing a reaction, the red ring appeared behind the network, which then made the cross shot beams out of the ends, causing a rift.

"Xyz Summon! Rank 3! Raidraptor - Fiend Eagle!" he said, making a black and purple mechanical eagle to appear with 2 Overlay Units orbiting it, it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Raidraptor - Fiend Eagle: DARK, Rank: 3 [Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/** 0 **, OLUs: 2**

"A Link Monster and a Xyz Monster..." the guard muttered to himself,

"The Skull Eagle's attached to Fiend Eagle give it 300 ATK until they're detached!" Talon said, Fiend Eagle's ATK: **1000 + 600 = 1600**.

"I activate Fiend Eagle's effect! By using an Overlay Unit..." he said as the Eagle absorbed a unit, Fiend Eagle's OLUs **2 – 1 = 1**. "I target 1 Special Summoned monster on the field, and inflict damage to your equal to it ATK!" he said.

"My target is Fiend Eagle!" he said as Fiend Eagle's wings glowed, releasing wave of purple energy of the guard. **3400 – 1600 = 1800** (Security Guard) "Now Fiend Eagle loses 300 ATK due to a Skull Eagle being detached..." he said, **1600 = 1300** (Fiend Eagle)

"Now the Skull Eagle detached for Fiend Eagle's effect activates!" he said, "I can banish it, and add 1 Raidraptor card from my Graveyard!" he said as the Skull Eagle was banished and he added Raidraptor Call to his Hand.

"Now I set two cards face-down..." he said as the cards appeared, then faded. "Battle! Fiend Eagle now attacks Galactic Cruiser!" he ordered.

"Is he mad!? Galactic Cruiser will tear that bird brain to pieces!" Kitamura shouted with a laugh at the end, while Fiend Eagle flew at the cruiser.

"Cryptic Falcon's effect!" Talon shouted, "When a Raidraptor it points to is attacked or is attacking, I can negate that attack..." he said as Cryptic Falcon flew ahead of Eagle making it stop, "Then Cryptic Falcon gains ATK equal to the ATK of a monster it points to!" he said. **1800 + 1300 = 3100** (Cryptic Falcon)

"Now Cryptic Falcon attacks Galactic Cruiser!" he said as the falcon was covered with energy and struck the battleship, causing an explosion. **1800 – 600 = 1200** (Security Guard)

"No! His monster was destroyed!" Kitamura screamed comically, but everyone else wasn't worried, due to the fact they knew something. When the explosion was done, the cruiser was still there, not even a scratch on it.

"Galactic Cruiser and monsters it points cannot be destroyed by battle..." the guard said dusting himself off. "But now that the damage step is over, if this card was attacked or attacking, I must remove 1 counter from it!" he said, **4 – 1 = 3**. (Galactic Cruiser)

"I end my turn." Talon said, having done all that he could. "With it ending Cryptic Falcon's effects ends." he added, **3100 = 1600** (Cryptic Falcon)

Talon's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"Find out what you can about that Deck!" Kitamura shouted, "Already done!" an operator said, bringing up some cards, "It appears to be mostly based around Xyz Summoning, as well as Rank-Up Magic cards..." they said.

"But that doesn't explain that Link Monster!" he shouted as he glared at the Cryptic Falcon on the screen. "You hear that you!?" he shouted into the com for the Guard, "Yes sir!" he said, wanting him to quiet down though.

"Good! Now take him out this instant!" Kitamura yelled as he cut the link, "My turn! I draw!" the Guard drew his card. "I now activate Zelos's effect! To Special Summon another B.E.S Big Core MK-2 from my Hand!" he said. As a second MK-2 appeared in the Middle Main Monster that Galactic Cruiser pointed to. **2400/** 1100 **\+ 500/500 = 2900/** 1600 (MK-2)

"As it was Special Summoned, it gains 3 counters, plus one from Zelos!" he said, MK-2's Counter Count: **0 + 3 = 3 + 1 = 4**. "And now I activate the Continious Spell, Boss Rush!" he said, "With this card, I can no longer Normal or Set monsters..." he said.

"Why has he done that!?" Kitamura screamed opening the channel again, making the guard clutch his ears. "I activate Galactic Cruiser's effect!" he shouted, by removing 2 counters..." he said, **3 – 2 = 1** (Galactic Cruiser) "Now I can target 1 card on your Field, and 1 in your Hand, and destroy them!" he said.

"I destroy your face-down to the Left, and the card in your Hand that is Raidraptor Call!" he said as the Cruiser charged up two beams, one hit the targeted face-down, and one hit the card in Talon's Hand, making the knight flinch.

"Battle! MK-2 will attack Fiend Eagle!" he ordered, with MK-2 charging up its weapons, after charging, the beams hit their mark at the Eagle, causing an explosion, Talon's LP: **4000 – 1** **6** **00 = 2** **4** **00**. When the explosion cleared, the Eagle was gone, "Yes! Now take out his other monster!" Kitamura cheered.

"At the end of the Damage Step that MK-2 attack or was attacked, I must remove a counter from it..." the Guard said, **4 – 1 = 3** (MK-2) "But then Galactic Cruiser's effect!" he said, "When a counter is removed from a B.E.S monster it points to, it gains 2 Counters!" he explained. **1 + 2 = 3** (Galactic Cruiser)

"I activate the Quick-Spell Spell, Rank Up Magic - Doom Double Force!" Talon shouted, as his remaining face-down flipped up, "It's one of those Rank Up Magic cards!" Kitamura screamed after his little cheer.

"When a Raidraptor Xyz Monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard the turn I activate this card, I can Special Summon it back!" he said as Fiend Eagle appeared again, the Network then appeared again.

"Then using it to rebuild the Overlay Network, I can Xyz Summon 1 Xyz Monster that has double the Rank of Fiend Eagle!" he said as Fiend Eagle turned into purple energy, "Rebuild yourself!" he yelled as the network absorbed the energy, then the red rings glowed, and beamed out red energy, causing a red rift to appear.

"Go! Rank Up Xyz Evolution!" Talon shouted, "Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon Airraid!" he yelled as a large mechanic falcon with thick wings, which then opened to reveal that they were used to drop bombs. It main bod was also thick and bulky, but altogether it made it look fearsome. It was Summoned to the Middle Middle Main Monster Zone, that Cryptic Falcon pointed to.

 **Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon Airraid: DARK, Rank: 6 [Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 3000 **, OLUs: 1**

"Normally when Airraid is Xyz Summoned, I can target 1 monster you control, destroy it, then inflict damage to you equal to it's ATK that it had on the field..." he explained. "But you can't due to Zelos keeping you from targeting B.E.S monster I control and destroying them either." the guard carried on.

"Now Galactic Cruiser will attack Cryptic Falcon!" he shouted, with Cruiser launching a missile at the Link Monster, destroying it with another explosion. **2400 – 900 = 1500** (Talon) "Since it attacked, I must remove a counter from Galactic Cruiser!" he said. **3 – 1 = 2** (Galactic Cruiser)

"I now end my turn." the guard, smiling at his chances at winning the Duel, "Listen, if you'll come quietly, we can talk this out, and maybe out you with your problem..." he said.

Security Guard's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

Talon, having heard this… was now pissed, "Why would I ask for help… FROM THE PEOPLE THAT I HATE MORE THAN ANYTHING!" he yelled out, shocking the guard, "Draw!" he shouted drawing his card.

"Appear before once more! The Circuit that leads to the path of Revolution!" he said as the Link Portal appeared.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is 1 Rank 4 or higher Raidraptor Xyz Monster!" he said, "I now set Revolution Falcon Airraid in the Link Marker!" he said the Falcon turned into a twister, with it hitting the Middle Bottom marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Raidraptor Commanding Falcon!" he shouted, as a new falcon appeared, it was similar to Cryptic Falcon, but slightly bigger as well as it had 4 wings, it was miltary green camo, it talons were made of light blue plasma. It was summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Raidraptor - Commanding Falcon: DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Now it's effect!" he said, "When Link Summoned, I can target 1 Raidraptor Xyz Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone that a Raidraptor Link Monster points to!" he said. "I Summon back Airraid!" he said as the monster appeared again.

"Then Commanding Falcon gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the Raidraptor Xyz Monster with the highest Rank on my Field!" he added, Commanding Falcon's ATK: **1000 + 2000 = 3000**

"Battle! Airraid will attack MK-2!" he said shocking everyone else, as Airraid took to the skies, and opened the flaps on its wings, that started to drop bombs on MK-2, who raised it's shields, and fired a beam at the Falcon, destroying it. **1500 – 900 = 600** (Talon)

"Airraid's effect!" Talon shouted, "Since I controlled it when it was destroyed by battle or card effect you control or activated, I can Special Summon 1 Raidraptor Revolution Falcon from my Extra Deck, then attach Airraid to it!" he said as a monster identical to Airraid appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone to Airraid was in before.

 **Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon: DARK, Rank: 6 [Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 3000 **, OLUs: 1**

"Now Revolution Falcon will attack Galactic Cruiser!" he said, as this Falcon went to do the same as Airraid did. "It's effect! When it battles a face-up Special Summoned monster, that monster's ATK and DEF are reduced to 0!" he said. **2500 = 0** (Galactic Cruiser)

"No way!?" Kitamura cried out, the shield that was protecting Cruiser broke down, making the bombs hit the battleship ship, and causing explosion all over the monster, with the winds hitting and knocking the Guard off his D-Board. **1200 – 2000 = 0** (Security Guard)

Talon: **WINS**

Security Guard: **LOSE**

With the Speed Duel over, the barrier broke down, with Talon retreating out of the area and back into the virtual city part, "Gahhh! I can't believe the Guard lost..." Kitamura whined, "He's fired for losing!" he cried out in anger.

"And when I get my hands on that Talon guy, I'll hire him, and then fire him just as quick!" he ranted on, while the operators just sweat drop, "You'd think he would be more mad about losing the AI-A..." one of them muttered to another, "What was that!?" he yelled. "N-Nothing!" they said getting back to work...

* * *

"Good work Talon..." Revolver said to Talon from his Duel Disk, "Thank you Master Revolver..." he said quietly, feeling bad for the Guard… slightly, he would feel more bad if he wasn't working for SOL.

" _That will be all for now, log out immediately!_ " Revolver ordered, "Right..." he said as he quickly logged out...

* * *

 **Hayato's apartment, (22:13 PM)**

Having been out of Link VRAINS for a few minutes, Hayato took his Duel Disk off, and poured himself a drink… a strong drink mind you, anyone would after what he was being forced to do…

"Miku..." he muttered to himself as he looked outside his window to see the lights of the city glowing. " _You'd never look at me the same way if you knew what I had to do for you now..._ " he thought sad. Just picturing her reaction, when she did finds out…

"No! As soon as she's awake, I'm leaving Hanoi..." he declared, slamming his glass down on the counter, "I just need to make sure they keep to the deal… without ending up like Miku..." he said, shuddering at what Miku must be experiencing in her coma…

* * *

 **Café Haru, the next day (8:23 AM)**

" _And in other news, SOL Technologies suffered a tragedy last night in their Research and Development department, by the hands of a Knight of Hanoi, going by the name of Talon_." an anchor woman reported from the TV in the café, having just reported other news.

" _We now go live to an interview with Kitamura, head of the Research and Development Department..._ " she said as the feed turned to the outside of SOL Technologies, where Kitamura was standing behind a podium.

" _How did the Knight get pass security?_ " a reported asked, " _I don't know! Next question!_ " Kitamura yelled, " _What did he destroy?_ " another asked, " _None of your business!_ " he shouted again, " _Are you that bad at your job?_ " the first asked. " _Shut up! I'll get you fired for that!_ " he screamed as the feed cut back to the studio.

"Wow, SOL sure is taking a beating these days..." Matoyia muttered to himself, manning the counter while Asuka set up some pastries behind the glass, so far no one had come in yet, which made sense, as it was fairly early. "Yeah, wonder what that will do for you?" Asuka asked him quietly, "I'll probably have to move onto the next company if they go under, I've got plenty of offers from other industries." he said.

"What about this Talon guy? What did he destroy again?" she asked him, as he had easy access, due to having hacked his way in a long time ago, and has been for a while, the only reason they haven't detected him was that he didn't tamper with anything, thus avoiding detection, it was useful when he had to keep tabs on them.

"A 100% AI Duelist from what I found about, they must really hate AI's for some reason." he said thinking about Hanoi's purpose and hatred for Artificial Intelligences. "Kitamura must be furious… good..." he said smirking, not a fan of Kitamura… to be fair, who was?

Suddenly his phone went off, it was the Tetris theme, "Be right back." he told her as he went out back, "Hello?" he asked, lowering his voice, "Is this Codebuster?" a distorted voice asked him, but he could tell that it was a male though.

"Yes… what do you need?" he asked, "I have a contract for you, and it must be done soon..." the voice told him, "Go on..." he said… on the other end of the line was Spectre, smirking, hoping Vire's plan would go off perfectly… well not perfectly, he wanted to see the guy suffer a bit for once…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (10:01 AM)**

Within Classroom 1-B, the students were having a study session, as they had a big test tomorrow morning, Yusaku had brought Ai with his Duel Disk with him to school, muted of course, just in case Hanoi attacked, and he needed to quickly leave to the roof to go in…

Not that he wouldn't mind just leaving the building, he was smart, he really didn't need to be here, but Kusanagi insisted that he try and make friends… not really working out though.

" _Maybe if I_ _said that he was my friend, Kusanagi may get off my back.._ _._ " Yusaku thought looking over at Naoki, who was on his notepad, listening to the news, " _What was his name again?_ " he added, suddenly Noaki sneezed, shocking Yusaku a bit, "Huh? Someone must be talking about me..." Naoki said, wiping his nose.

"Say Yusaku, did you hear about what happened at SOL last knight?" he asked, "No, what happened?" he lied, having been up late with Kusanagi going over Link VRAINS before Kusanagi made him go to bed, seeing that the Duel Talon had was fairly short and he wouldn't have reached them in time, that and the barrier got in the way.

"Wow! You really aren't with it these day!" Naoki snorted, "The Knight of Hanoi, Talon attacked something in the desert area, that SOL was using for testing..." he explained, "Really, not really interesting, Hanoi usually attacks them right?" Yusaku said, "Yeah, but why go after… what was it again?" Naoki said to himself, trying to think about what he just said.

"Not really important if you forgot..." Yusaku muttered, uninterested, he then looked around the room, before setting his eyes on Aito Haru, he had been doing this for quiet a while… not interested in being his friend or anything… well, maybe they could be.

The reason for the staring was the aura that Aito gave off, it was similar to him, and to Jin that one time that he saw him with Shoichi, but it wasn't as strong as Jin's though. " _Wonder why he's like that, like me a bit?_ " he questioned himself, he would probably look up info on him later.

With Aito, he suddenly felt off, like someone was staring at him, so he stopped writing down some notes, and turned around, and meet Yusaku staring at him, "Can I help you?..." he asked softly. "No, just looking around the place." Yusaku said as he directed his gaze somewhere else.

" _Who is that guy?..._ " Aito thought, as he too got the same aura from Yusaku that was like him, but there was something else that he couldn't figure out. " _Maybe I'll talk to him later..._ " he added, as he went back to his notes...

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, Control Room, (11:54 AM)**

"Find out anything you can from Duels taking place in Link VRAINS! Talon must be in there!" Akira Zaizen commanded, "Yes Sir!" the operators said in unison. "Damien, please tell us what cards Talon used, that way we can pinpoint more accurately for him." he asked his assistant, Damien Finch, who was with him when he had that interview yesterday.

"Right..." Damien said, looking up something on his notepad, a few seconds later he found, "Talon appears to use Raidraptor cards, they generally use for Xyz Summoning, as well as Rank Up Magic..." he said.

"However, from his Duel with the Guard, he seemed to use Raidraptor Link Monsters as well." he added. "That will make it slightly trickier, as not many people use Xyz Summoning now a days, apart from Codebuster with his Cyber Dragon Deck." Akira said to himself.

"But the Rank Up Magic should make it easier for us to find him, right?" Damien asked, "Correct." he answered, "Could you go get me a coffee please?" he asked nicely, "Sure, be right back sir!" Damien said as he went off.

While he did that, Akira got to thinking about Damien, he had been here in Den City for about a year, he knew as he looked up his info for when he applied for a job here. Damien originally came from America, but moved to Den City about a year ago.

Reason for this was that unlike Den City, the world outside of it, was under developed in terms of technological advancements, due to this Japan was forced to help the other countries develop, but not without a price, a price that some countries just can't pay.

Damien had told him that he wanted to start a new, as he was tired of his old life, due to the conditions he lived in before, and was annoyed with all the complaining he heard. Akira, having felt a sense of Deja Vu, accepted Damien as his assistant, so he could have a good life, he was reminded of himself when he was younger, he too had to-

"Sir! Codebuster has been spotted!" an operator told him snapping him out of his thoughts, "So? He's fine, it Playmaker that we need to find." he said, suddenly they heard a yelp coming from somewhere, a few moment later, Damien returned, however he was now soaked in a liquid, and seemed to be in pain.

"Sorry sir… But an intern spooked me and I dropped your coffee on myself." he hissed in pain, "That's alright..." Akira said with a sigh, one thing he noticed was while he was cheerful about his work, he was also a bit timid, even the smallest task could make him crumble under the pressure.

" _Imagine if he meet the higher ups..._ " Akira thought, "You can go clean yourself up Damien!" he told him, "Thank you..." he said painfully, then made his way out the room.

"Sir not to be rude or anything, but why did you hire him?" an operator asked, "I see potential in him, while his timidness could get in the line of work, he's quite skilled, before becoming my assistant he was helping to maintain the companies server, while in Link VRAINS." Akira explained.

With Damien, he was wiping himself off, as he walked, he passed another worker, who happened to be Mars, "What happened to you?" he asked, "Spilt coffee..." Damien muttered, not stopping to talk.

As he turned the corner, Mars stopped for a moment to look back at where he turned and narrowed his eyes. " _I feel like_ _I_ _'ve heard that voice before..._ " he thought, but couldn't place it, so he walked away.

Back with Damien, he had reached his person office, walked in, and shut the door, then locked it… and his expression instantly became blank. "Man… it's starting to hurt to act like that..." he said monotone, no emotion in his voice.

He then walked over to his desk, sat down, and called someone on a private channel, "Yes Vire?" Revolver asked on the other side, "Revolver, has Codebuster gone to the location yet?" Damien asked.

Yes, Damien Finch, was Vire, the Knight of Hanoi with no morals… one of the reason that Revolver inducted him into the group. "No, but we shall tell you when he's there, that way you can commence your plan." he said back.

Damien actually smiled at this, as it would allow him to be Vire, in which he truly felt alive. "What is he doing by the way? The control room just discovered him." he asked, "Patrol, but after he'll likely go do the 'contract' for us." Revolver said back.

"Alright, tell me when, and I'll pick my target to lure Playmaker out..." Damien said, opening a draw, sitting in it was his Duel Disk, which was the latest version, it was a black metal armband ring, sitting at the centre of it was a purple diamond shaped gem, that was surrounded by a neon green ring, his smile grew into a malicious grin…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, City Area… (30 minutes later)**

"Right, patrol is done, so now onto this contract..." Codebuster said as he raised his Duel Disk arm, in which the mention device displayed a holographic map of the city area with a blinking light. He was currently on his D-Board, as it was easier to get around nowadays.

The client, who didn't give a name, told him that his company, whatever it was, had accidently deleted private files, and they needed him to retrieve them. Naturally, being a Bounty Hunter, he knew all the ins and outs of Link VRAINS.

With this he knew exactly where the files would be dumped, the Data Recycling Plant, which was right below Link VRAINS, acting as a sewer system for used data that would be reused. To make the job easier, the files had a tracking system, which he felt was rather convenient, making him a bit suspicious as to why they'd hire a stranger like him to retrieve them.

"Ah well, money is money..." he muttered to himself, he then jumped off his D-Board, and landed right before a man hole cover, that lead to the plant. "This is the closest that the files can be found." he told himself, he then lifted the lid, and climbed down, closing the lid after…

However he was unaware that someone was watching him…

* * *

 **Knights of Hanoi's Base (a few moments later)**

Standing within the base was Revolver, Spectre, Valcry, Talon, Baira and Faust, they had just watched Codebuster climbed down the man hole cover.

"Good with Codebuster out of the way for a while Vire's plan will hopefully go more smoother." Revolver said, "I've just called him, he should be here soon!" Spectre said, while the other grimaced.

"Must we go on with this plan of his Revolver?" Valcry asked annoyed, "Yes, his Deck will be perfect in taking down Playmaker." he said back.

"Why did you bring him in the organization? He's insane!" Faust said angry, but flinched when Revolver glared at him, "He's perfect for it, that's why… I can still remember the day I met him..." Revolver said, thinking back to that day...

* * *

 **Flashback (6 months ago)**

Within the network of SOL Technologies, Revolver appeared within a flash of lightning, reason for being here was that he was hoping that the Ignis was hiding within the network, just bidding its time.

"Who's there?" a voice asked, he slowly turned to face an avatar, said avatar looked like a maintenance worker, but the face just had a logo of SOL Technologies on it. "Leave now… Before I'm forced to delete you!" Revolver demanded.

He thought this threat would be enough to make the guy leave, but he just stood there, unflinching, which he did not expect at all, "Did you not hear me?" he asked, "Yes, but why bother, I can just make a new avatar, or they'll give me a new account..." the avatar droned on, with this peeking Revolver's interest.

"In the end, I could go through about a hundred accounts before I finally gave up just not log on anymore." it said monotone, "So you really don't care that your virtual life may be gone? All that you worked for could be gone in an instant." he retort.

"Whatever..." the avatar said going back to his work, not caring if he was there, confusing him, "Your not going to stop me? You do know I'm not meant to be here..." he said, "No, just do what you need and leave… I'll sort it out later on." it said.

" _That tone. Those thoughts, and his attitude, it's like he has no purpose in this world..._ " Revolver thought, then smirked, "Maybe I can give him a purpose..." he muttered to himself.

"Listen to me..." he said, with this making the avatar stop what it was doing, "What?" it asked, "Why do you do what you do?" he asked, "Survival I guess..." he said, "Just that?" he asked, "Why do anything else, we'll all have to die at some point, might as well wait it out while surviving." it said.

"Then what about a purpose, and job… or a goal?" he said, "A Goal?" it asked, "Yes… it could my goal that you help with..." he asked, "I'm listening..." it said, since it was only him and the avatar in hear, and that he had bugged the system, so that no one knew what he was doing in there, Revolver knew he had a opportunity here.

"My name is Revolver! Leader of the Knights of Hanoi!" he said, "And i'd like to offer you a chance to join us." he said holding his hand out for him, "Hanoi? That group of cyberterrorist?" it asked, this time a bit of emotion could be heard in its voice.

"Yes, while we are cyberterrorist, we do have a noble cause, maybe you could help us achieve it..." he said, hand still held out, the avatar seemed to be thinking, but a few moments later, it took Revolver's hand and shook it.

"I accept!" it said, making grin, "Good… now tell me your name?" he asked, "My name… is Vire!" the now named Vire said, sounding happy at what was to come…

* * *

 **Flashback End…**

"And that's is how I meet Vire..." he told them, "And since then, he along with Ares, have been spying on SOL Tech for us, but they don't know about the others existent, for security measures." he explained to them.

"But none of you are to tell Ares about this, understood?" he ordered, "Yes Revolver!" they said bowing, a few moments later, Vire teleported in, "Vire, have you picked out your target?" he asked, facing him.

"Yes, just be sure… to watch the news..." he said, and lefted just as quick as he appeared, "He better win, otherwise, we'll be force to go onto Dr-" Baira said, "Even he loses, we'll have many other chances to destroy the Ignis, before it comes to that." Revolver said…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS… (10 minutes later)**

Flying across the skies of the system was Frog, being carried by Pigeon, "Are you sure about this Yamamoto?" Pigeon asked, "Don't say my real name idiot!" Frog yelled, "Sorry..." he said back, "And yes, the info I received said something about a huge scoop that was about to take place." he said.

"But what if it's a trap?" Pigeon retorted, "Nonsense! The intel said that other people were also told about it, but whoever got there first could claim it, the info said that..." Frog explained, "That's sounds like a trap..." Pigeon said.

"He's right you know..." a venomous voice said, literally behind them, "See! I told yo-" Pigeon said, but instantly froze up, along with Frog…

…

…

Pigeon slowly turned around, making Frog turn as well, and standing on a D-Board was a Knight of Hanoi, who had a malicious grin on his face, "Hello..." he said venomously, "IT'S HANOI!-" the two cried, but were silence when the Knight grabbed their mouths.

"You two came, just like you were told..." he said as the two shook with fear, "Now you two are going to help me with something..." he said, his grin growing, making them shake more…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (20 minutes later)**

It was now lunchtime for the students, Yusaku was in the Cafeteria, with Naoki sitting to the side on his notepad, "Hmm..." he hummed, trying to get onto the Frog and Pigeon Channel, but all he got was static.

"This thing isn't busted..." Naoki said holding the tablet at funny angles just to see what was wrong with it, "No signal?" Yusaku guess, "That's not it, maybe the channel is having technically difficulties." he said, as AnDru Plast and two girls with him walked by.

Yusaku watched the three walk past, having nothing better to do, "Ah! It's worki-" Naoki said, but stopped, confusing Yusaku slightly, "OH MY GOD!" he screamed out, alerting everyone around him.

"What'd going on?" a AnDru asked, "Take a look!" Naoki yelled, shoving the tablet in front of them, they looked, as well as Yusaku looking, where they saw Frog in front of the screen, along with Pigeon for some reason, but without his camera helmet, the two were tied up.

" _Playmaker… Codebuster..._ " Frog whimpered, " _Wrong! Just Playmaker!_ " a voice snapped at Frog, a hand suddenly came from the side and grabbed the tadpole on Frog's head, and squeezed the poor thing.

" _R-Right… Playmaker, please hurry..._ " he cried out, suddenly the camera shifted to reveal a Knight of Hanoi, but his robe was black, his mask was dark purple with dark pink spikes on the edges, the lens were dark red. And his hair was dark pink and spiked up with violet highlights.

" _You hear that Playmaker? These two are a bit tied up..._ " Vire joked, " _And are in need of your help… otherwise I'll drop the two off a building._ " he threatened, " _You have ten minutes before they go splat!_ " he said as the feed cut off.

"That's horrible!" a girl with AnDru cried, hugging him, "I know, but Playmaker wouldn't let them die… Right?" a student asked, "What do you think about the whole thing Yusak-" Naoki went to asked Yusaku… but he had vanished.

"Where did he go!?" he screamed, as this happened, Aito watched Yusaku leave the room… "Where is he going?" he said to himself.

* * *

With Yusaku, having just lefted the Cafeteria, now sprinted into a run, he brought his Duel Disk out and un muted it as he placed it on his wrist. "Going back in?" Ai asked, "Yes, not only has a Knight of Hanoi shown, but's he taken hostages." Yusaku said as he slowed down, opened a door to the tiolets, walked into a stall, and set his bag down.

"Deck Set!" he yelled, placing his Deck into the Duel Disk, "Into the VRAINS!" he said…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

On top of a rooftop was Vire, along with a tied up Frog and Pigeon, "We did what you wanted, now let us go!" Pigeon cried, "Nope!" I'm keeping you here, until Playmaker and I are Duelling..." Vire said as hover camera appeared in the sky, "Get lost! This is our scoop!" Frog yelled out in anger.

"Boss, they're here, because we our the scoop!" Pigeon told him, "Oh… right." Frog said, now depressed. Suddenly Playmaker appeared from a portal and landed on the rooftop. "Yes! Playmaker is here to save us!" Pigeon cried in joy. Suddenly Vire grabbed them and put them on the side of rooftop, dangling them over the edge, shocking everyone watching.

"Tell me Playmaker..." Vire said, "Why do you think I did all this?" he asked, "Three reasons..." he said, "One: You want to get the AI for Hanoi, like the others before you." he said, "Two: To Duel me for said AI, but with a situation that would try and distract me into concerntrating on it." he added.

"And three: So I'd know to take you seriously." he said, "Good answers..." Vire said, "But all wrong!" he added, shocking Playmaker, "I only brought these chumps in, just for fun..." he said, shocking everyone watching.

"You'd really put some at risk, just for fun!?" Ai yelled, "Why not?" I'm surprised the other Knights haven't done this." Vire said, as he held out a hand, that made a cage of purple data appear that hovered over the edge, he opened it, and shoved his captives inside it, and slammed the door shut, clicking close.

"This cage will stay until we've duelled, but you'll only have 30 seconds to get back here before they fall… that's if you win of course." he said, "If I win, then they'll plummet to their deaths." he said with a smile.

"Very well." Playmaker said, "Good! Now follow me!" Vire said, walking off the edge, where his D-Board, which was like the other Hanoi ones. Playmaker ran off and followed him on his D-Board.

"Get ready to know the pain of knowing you failed to save someone!" Vire sneered as they sailed across the winds.

"Speed Duel!" the two yelled, drawing 4 cards each.

Vire's LP: **4000**

Playmaker's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"This is horrible! A Knight of Hanoi has taken two people hostage, and Playmaker must defeat him to save them!" the MC yelled as the people gathered in the plaza, where Kusanagi was currently at with his truck.

* * *

"Yusaku is Duelling!?" he said shocked, he quickly closed up shop, and turned on his computers, "I need to see what this program is like to try and save them." he said typing away.

* * *

"I shall go first!" Vire said, "I Normal Summon Batox Cloud!" he said, waving his hand over the card, with this making a black bat, cartoonish in style to appear, its head was huge compared to the rest of the body, it had no legs, and the wing membranes were dark blue, underneath the bat was a storm cloud, it was Summoned to the Middle Monster Zone.

 **Batox Cloud: WATER, Level: 3 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 1200

"Then I place a card face-down..." he said as a card appeared, then faded. "And then I activate the Continious Spell, Batox Swarming!" he said as the card appeared on the field, the pictured it had was that of multiple Batox monsters flying about during a full moon. "Then I end my turn!" he said.

Vire's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"By the way, I forget to mention there's a time limit to that cage!" Vire said back, shocking him, "You have about 15 minutes before it goes off… And any tampering will immediately drop them!" he added. Shoichi having heard this, suddenly stopped.

"Hurry Yusaku!" Shoichi said to him via com link, "Right!" he said, "My turn! I draw!" he shouted drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Draconnet!" he said, making the dragon like monster appear in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Draconnet: DARK, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 1200

"It's effect! When Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon from my Hand or Deck 1 Level 2 or lower Normal Monster in Defense!" he said, "I Summon Digitron from my Deck!" he said, as a monster similar to Bitron appeared with a cute cry in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Digitron: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Normal] ATK/** 1500 **DEF** **/0**

"Then from my Hand I Special Summon Backup Secretary as I control a Cyberse-Type monster!" he said, as the monster appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Backup Secretary: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 800

After this, Vire smirked, "I activate my Skill, Toxicity Control!" Vire yelled, "Already!" Ai yelled, "When you Normal or Special Summon monsters, I can Normal Summon from my Deck 1 Batox monster!" he explained.

"Even if it's our turn!?" Ai asked in shock, "I now Normal Summon Batox Needle!" he said as a monster similar to Batox Cloud appeared, it wing membranes were dark purple, and this one did have legs, but they were stumpy and were carrying a needle and syringe, the liquid within was a sickly green. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Batox Needle: DARK, Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 900

"Needle's effect!" he said, "When Summoned, I can target 1 monster you control, it cannot attack or change it's position, and it cannot leave the field until the end of the turn!" he said shocking him. "I target Draconnet!" he said as Needle flew over to Draconnet and jabbed it with it's syringe.

"Appear! The Circuit that will lead to the future!" Playmaker yelled, sparks from his hand shooting into the air, where the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Cyberse monster!" he said.

"I set Digitron and Back-up Secretary in the Link Markers!" he said, as the two monsters turned into twister, Digitron hit the Middle Left and Back-up Secretary the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Flame Administrator!" he shouted, as red and orange bulky robotic monster appeared in the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Flame Administrator: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1200 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅↘

"Administrator's effect! All Link Monsters I control gain 800 ATK!" he explained, Administrator's ATK: **1200 + 800 = 2000**. "Now I activate the Spell, Cyberse Cache!" he said, "When I control a Cyberse monster whose ATK is different to it's original ATK, I can draw 2 cards!" he drew that many.

"I set 2 card." Playmaker said as two cards appeared on the field, then faded, "Battle! Flame Administrator attacks Batox Needle!" he ordered as Administrator soared over to the bat monster.

"I activate Cloud's effect!" Vire said, "During either battle phase, all Batox monsters gain 300 ATK!" he said, Cloud's ATK: **1300 + 300 = 1600** , Needle's ATK: **1400 + 300 = 1700**.

"Still not enough!" Ai yelled, "I didn't finish..." Vire said grinning, "Monsters you control then lose 300 ATK!" he finished shocking Ai, Draconnet's ATK: **1400 – 300 = 1100** , **2000 – 300 = 1700**. (Flame Administrator)

"Their ATK is equal!" Ai said shocked, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Security Block!" Playmaker quickly said activating a card from his Hand, "I target 1 Cyberse monster on the field, and neither of us take damage, and that monster cannot be destroyed by battle!" he explained.

The two monsters clashed, but due to Security Block's effect, Flame Administrator survived, while Needle was destroyed. " ***Phew*** Thank god..." Ai muttered, unaware that Vire was smirking.

"You shouldn't have done that..." he whispered coldly, alerting the two, "When the monster summoned by Toxicity Control is destroyed the turn its summoned, I can destroy 1 card you control!" he said.

Suddenly the ghost of Needle appeared on the field again, "I'll destroy Administrator!" he said, as the ghost bat, turned into smoke and shot at the Link Monster, instantly destroying it. "I end my turn..." Playmaker said.

"And with that Cloud's effect ends..." Vire said. **1600 = 1300** , (Cloud), **1100 = 1400** (Draconnet) "But that's not all! As Swarming's effect now activates!" he said, "When a Batox monster is destroyed, during the end of the turn it was destroyed, I can Special Summon 1 Batox monster from my Deck whose name is different than the destroyed one!" he explained as a card ejected itself from his Deck.

Which he then took, "I Summon Batox Bullet!" he said, as new Batox monster appeared, it's wing membranes were blood red, and being carried in its legs were a pistol gun. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Batox Bullet: FIRE, Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 500

"The monster summoned with Swarming cannot activate it's effect that turn..." he added.

Playmaker's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"So it's a stalling Deck..." Playmaker surmised, "This is bad, he could stall us for how long he wants to, during which the cage could fall and those two will die!" Ai added, "Where is Codebuster? He should be here!" Shoichi asked…

* * *

 **With Codebuster…**

Within the Data Recycling Plant, the sewer like system was surprisingly clean, Codebuster was nowhere to be seen… but a monster made out data was, it was huge and misshaped, and it appeared to be looking for some, a few moment later, it stomped away, looking for it's prey…

…

…

…

And above where the monster was standing, clinging to the ceiling was a terrified Codebuster, who was virtually sweating buckets, " ***Phew*...** " he sighed out, then dropped to the floor, and looked both ways, just in case the monster came back.

"Wasn't really expecting that to appear, but at least I got away..." he whispered, as he heard the monster's footstep get further away "Now let's see, where are the files now." he said as he brought up the map again…

And was shocking to see that he was further away now, most likely due to being chased by the monster, "ARE YOU FRICK-IN KIDDING ME-" he yelled but slapped his hand over his mouth, then listened as the monster's footsteps suddenly stopped, then started again, this time getting louder.

Then around the corner, the monster appeared, charging towards him, "CRAP!" he screamed running away from the monster, and towards the filed, so he could get the hell out of here! But he was unaware that the files had quickly moved to new location fast...

* * *

 **Back to the Duel…**

"My turn! I draw!" Vire shouted, drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Batox Mushroom!" he said, appearing on the field was a new Batox monster, this one's wing membranes were brown, and being in it legs was a mushroom that looked poisonious. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Batox Mushroom: DARK, Level: 1 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/500 DEF/** 0

"Then I activate Bullet's effect!" he said as the chamber of Bullet's pistol began to spin. "Once per turn, when I control another Batox monster, I destroy 1 card you control!" he said, "I destroy the face-down to your left!" he said, as a Bullet shot out of the pistol and hit the target, destroying it, it was Cyberse Shattered.

"If the card is destroyed, you take 500 damage!" he added, as another shot was fired, and hit Playmaker's right shoulder, making him cried out in pain, Playmaker's LP: **4000 – 500 = 3500**.

"Now appear! The Circuit that leads to Torment!" Vire yelled with glee, as the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Batox monster!" he said, "I now set Bullet and Mushroom in the Link Markers!" he said, as the two bats turned into black twisters, one with red mixed in and the other had brown.

Mushroom hit the Top Left and Bullet the Middle Top, turning them red. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Batox Poison!" he shouted. Appearing from red energy, was a cloaked bat, the wing membranes were pitch black, the actual body itself was a dark grey. The wings then unfolded and spread out, revealing the rest of the monster, the body was humanoid, it had arms, the hands had extremely sharp claws, and in one of them was a vial of vicious liquid, it's legs were longer and double jointed. It's eyes were blood red, and its fangs were showing. It was Summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Batox Poison: DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↖⬆

"Both it's Link Markers point to our field..." Ai said cautious, "It must be powerful..." Playmaker said, "Poison's effect! It gains 200 ATK for every other Batox monster I control with a different name!" Vire explained as Chemical drank another vial it brought out, causing it's muscles to bulge. Poison's ATK: **2000 + 200 = 2200**.

"Battle! Poison will now attack Draconnet!" he said maliciously, "I activate the Trap, Urgent Link!" Playmaker quickly said, as his face-down flipped up, "Since I control no monster in the Extra Monster Zone and you declared an attack with your monster, all battle damage during that battle is halved!" he said.

"Either way, you still take damage!" Vire mocked, "Cloud's effect!" he added, **2200 + 300 = 2500** (Poison), **1300 + 300 = 1600** (Cloud), **1400 – 300 = 1100** (Draconnet). Poison then tossed a vial at Draconnet, causing an explosion and destroying it. **3500 – 700 = 2800** (Playmaker)

"And now for Cloud to attack you directly!" he declared, "Get ready to feel the pain!" he said as the cloud under Cloud, started to spark, lightning then struck out of it and hit Playmaker, causing him and Ai to yell in pain. **2800 –** **1600 = 1200** (Playmaker) This caused him to kneel over on his D-Board, smoking a bit.

"I think you've been tortured enough for now..." Vire said smirking. "I end my turn! With it ending, Cloud's effect ends!" he said, **2500 = 2200** (Poison), **1600 = 1300** (Cloud)

Vire's Hand x 1

* * *

"This is bad! Hanoi will get the Ignis at this rate!" Akira said, watching the Duel take place, "And Playmaker can't forfeit either, that will count as a lost too." he added, "How's the status of the hostages?" he asked, "Not good, the cage seems to have dropped a bit." an operator said.

"Codebuster would be able to save them, but where is he?" Akira asked annoyed, "And where is Damien?" he asked...

* * *

 **With Codebuster…**

" _I think it's gone..._ " he thought glancing around a corner, where he last saw the monster go another direction. A few seconds later, he came out of hiding. "Right where are they now..." he said, once again bringing the map up, and was shocked to find out they were now where is was before.

"What the hell?! When did they..." he said, "There must've been a small passage they went through..." he concluded. " ***** **Sigh** ***** Might as well make my way there..." he softly said as he carefully made his way to the location of the files, making sure not to run into the monster again…

* * *

 **Back to the Duel…**

 **Turn 4**

"This is great..." Mars said watching the Duel from his office, "Vire's deck should be able to pin Playmaker in a corner just long enough for him to deal the final strike!" he said smirking, " _Then we can destroy the Cyberse world, and THEN Revolver can help me bring SOL down..._ " he added.

" _Still a shame that Vire is the one that does the deed._ " he said, as he wanted the fame of being the one to defeat Playmaker…

* * *

"Playmaker-sama! Can you get up?" Ai asked in pain, "Yeah..." he said standing up, "This is bad… but also good in one way." Ai hinted, "Right, if I can get below 1000 LP, I can activate Storm Access and get the right card that can help us." he said.

"But first I need to survive, or take him out, before it comes to that." he said confidently, "My turn! I Draw!" he yelled drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Bitron!" he said, as Bitron appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone with a cry.

 **Bitron: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Normal] ATK/200 DEF/** 2000

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowhead confirmed! The Summoning condition is 1 Normal monster!" he said, I set Bitron in the Link Marker! "he said as Bitron turned into a twister and hit the Middle Bottom Link Marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Link Spider!" he said as Link Spider appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's right.

 **Link Spider: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Link Spider's effect! Once per turn, when it points to no monster, I can Special Summon 1 Normal Monster from my Deck!" he said. "I Special Summon a second Bitron!" he said as second Bitron appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone that Spider pointed to in Defense.

"And from my Hand, I Special Summon Dual Assembwurm by banishing 2 Cyberse monsters from my Graveyard!" he said as a Digitron and Bitron were banished. This caused a cybernetic dragon to appear, one side of its body was blue, and the other was red. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Dual Assembwurm: DARK, Level: 8 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/2800 DEF/** 1000

"When Assembwurm is Summoned this way, it's ATK is halved!" he said, Assembwurm's ATK: **2800 = 1400**.

"Then I banish Cyberse Shatter from my Graveyard..." he said, as the card was banished, "This then let's me Special Summon a Link 2 or lower Cyberse Link Monster from my Graveyard!" he said, "My target is Flame Administrator!" he said as the monster appeared the Middle Main Monster Zone. It's effect made it stronger, as well as Link Spider. **1200 + 800 = 2000** (Flame Administrator), Link Spider's ATK: **1000 + 800 = 1800**

"Appear once more! The Circuit that will lead to the Future!" he said again, as the Link Portal appeared again, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Condition is 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster!" he said.

"I set the second Bitron in the Link Marker!" he said as the second Bitron did the same as the first, and hit the Middle Bottom Link Marker, turning it red. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Link Disciple!" he said as a small monster appeared, one of its arm was like a wand. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone that Link Spider pointed to.

 **Link Disciple: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/500 + 800 = 1300 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Once more!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Effect monsters!" he said, "I now Set Link 1 Link Spider, Link 1 Link Disciple and Dual Assembwurm in the Link Markers!" he said, as the monsters turned into twisters, Spider hit the Middle Top, Disciple the Bottom Left and Assembwurm the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Decode Talker!" he said as Decode Talker appeared in the Extra Monster Zone that Link Spider was in before.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 + 800 = 3100 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"There it is… The monster that gave you all your victories so far..." Vire muttered looking at the monster, "Decode Talker gains 500 ATK for every monster it points to! Power Integration!" Playmaker said, **3100 + 500 = 3600**. (Decode Talker)

"Battle! Decode Talker attacks Batox Cloud!" he declared as the Code Talker charged at the smaller bat, "Cloud's effect!" Vire retorted, **2200 + 300 = 2500** (Poison), **1300 + 300 – 1600** (Cloud), **3600 – 300 = 3300** (Decode Talker), **2000 – 1700** (Flame Administrator)

When Administrator lost ATK, Vire smirked, "Now Poison's effect!" he yelled, shocking them, "When a monster it points to is affected by a Batox monster's effect, I can target 1 of them and destroy it! Then make all other monsters you control lose ATK equal the destroyed monster's original ATK!" he explained grinning.

Poison's then brought out another vial of liquid, mixed it with the first, causing it to bubble and threw it at Flame Administrator. "I activate the Trap, Access Denied!" Playmaker said, as his final face-down flipped up.

"When you target Cyberse monsters for a card effect you activate, I can negate that effect!" he said as the vial hit a ray shield, and dissolved, "Then for every Cyberse monster that was a target, I can draw 1 card!" he said, drawing a card as only Administrator was a target.

"The battle continues!" Playmaker added, as Decode Talker continued his charge at Cloud, "I activate the Trap, Batox Bloody Guard!" Vire yelled as his face-down flipped up. It had a picture of a Batox monster, it's fangs were dripping with blood that seemed to be hardening.

"I can activate this card during your first battle and your monster attacks a Batox monster!" he explained. "That mosnter loses 400 ATK for every Batox monster with a different name I control!" he said, **3300 – 800 = 2500** (Decode Talker)

"Either way, you still take damage!" Ai retorted, as Decode Talker slashed at Cloud, destroying it. Vire's LP: **4000 –** **900 = 3100**. "Then after your monster has battled, your battle phase is over..." Vire hissed out. Poison's ATK was lowered seeing that Cloud was gone. **2200 = 2000** (Poison)

"And when a Batox monster is destroyed the turn I activate Bloody Guard, I can add 1 Batox card from my Deck to my Hand!" he said adding a card to his hand. "I end my turn!" Playmaker said, "And with it ending, Cloud's effect ends, and with it leaving the field, Poison's ATK returns to normal!" Vire said. **2500 = 2000** (Poison), **2500 = 3600** (Decode Talker), **1700 = 2000** (Flame Administrator)

"And then Swarming's effect! Since Cloud was destroyed, I now Special Summon Batox Vial!" he said as a new Batox monster appeared, carried in its legs was a vial of purple liquid, it's wing membranes were pink. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Batox Vial: DARK, Level: 3 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/** 1100 **DEF/1600**

"With it on the field, Poison gains 200 ATK again!" he said, **2000 + 200 = 2200** (Poison)

Playmaker's Hand x 1

 **Turn 5**

"Tick Tock Playmaker!" Vire mocked, "My turn! I Draw!" he shouted drawing his card, "I Normal Summon a second Batox Cloud!" he said as a second copy of Cloud appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Appear again! The Circuit that leads to Torment!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Batox monsters!" he said. "I now set the Link 2 Batox Poison and Batox Cloud in the Link Markers!" he said as the bat monster turned into twisters, Poison's split into two, and hit the Top Left and Top Right Markers, and Cloud the Middle Top, turning them red.

* * *

"They all point upwards!" Naoki screamed watching from the cafeteria. While more students were crowding around him, others had opted to turn on their own Notepads to watch with less people behind them.

* * *

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Batox Venom!" Vire yelled, as a bat/scorpion hybrid monster appeared from the Portal. It had a black exoskeleton at the torso area, it arms from the elbows were scorpion claws, and it had a scorpion tail. Like Chemicals, it's fur was dark grey, and it's eyes were dark green, the pupils were blood red and slitted. It's wings had two small hook fingers on them. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Vire's right.

 **Batox Venom: DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↖⬆↗

"What the hell is that thing!?" Ai screamed in fear at the hideous hybrid creature. "Venom gains 300 ATK for every other Batox monster on the field!" Vire said grinning, Venom's ATK: **2400 + 300 = 2700**.

"And that's not all..." he said hissing, "Monsters it points to, have their effects negated! And their ATK cut in half!" he explained, shocking everyone watching. **2000 =** **600** (Flame Administrator), "And now that Administrator's effect is gone, Decode Talker loses 800 ATK!" he added, **3600 – 800 = 2800** (Decode Talker)

"I set two cards!" he said as two card appear face-down, then faded. I activate Vial's effect!" he said, "When you control monsters whose ATK is different to their original ATK, I can target the monster with the lowest original ATK, and inflict half of that ATK to you as damage!" he yelled out.

Vial then flew higher, dropped it's vial on top of Administrator, the liquid exploded the second the vial hit, and some of it hit Playmaker, making him recoil in pain. **1200 – 600 = 600** (Playmaker). "It's been fun Playmaker, but you've failed." he mocked.

"Battle! Venom will now attack Flame Administrator!" he ordered as Venom flew over to Administrator, "Do something!" Ai screamed, "Too little too late!" Vire hissed as Venom slashed at the monster, causing an explosion.

"Oh no! Playmaker has been defeated by the dastardly Vire of the Knights of Hanoi! What will happen to Link VRAINS now!?" the MC shouted, "You can come out Playmaker… I know you survived..." Vire hissed annoyed, when the smoke cleared Playmaker was still there. **600 = 600** (Playmaker)

"Let me guess… A card?" Vire asked venomously, "Correct. By banishing Access Denied, I can reduce all battle damage to 0 for the rest of the turn!" Playmaker explained. "He's survived! Playmaker is still in this!" the MC cheered, along with everyone else. "Wait! Why did Administrator survive!" Ai asked as Flame Administrator was still around, despite being attacked by a stronger monster.

"Monsters that Venom points to cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects..." Vire said

"Hmph… I end my turn!..." he added.

Vire's Hand x 0

 **Turn 6**

"Hey Playmaker-sama! You need to end this now!" Ai said, "I know!" he said "My turn! I draw!" he shouted drawing his card, just then a Data Storm twister appeared, "And now I can!" he added, as he travelled closer to the storm, "But what about the monster that tried to escape before?" Ai asked, with Vire hearing this.

" _A monster..._ " he thought, "It's a risk I'm going to have to take!" Playmaker said as he made his way into the storm…

…

…

A few moments later, "Storm Access!" Playmaker voice shouted, as a burst of light appeared, and parted the storm, with him making his way back to Vire. "I activate the Spell, Rating Draw!" he said as the card appeared, the image was that of the corner of a Link Monster card, with some face-down cards up to the number of the Link Rating of that Link Monster.

"I tribute 1 Link 2 or higher Link Monster I control..." he said as Decode Talker burst into particles, "Then I can draw 1 card for every Link Marker on that monster!" he explained, "Decode Talker's was 3 so I draw 3 cards!" he said drawing that many.

"But then I must send 2 cards to the Graveyard!" he said sending that many, "Dotscaper's effect!" he said, "When sent to the Graveyard from my Hand, I can Special Summon it!" he said as a white and green pixelated alien monster appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Dotscaper: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/2100**

"I activate the Continious Trap, Batox Haze!" Vire yelled as his face-down flipped up, I had a picture of a foggy night, some eyes from Batox monsters could be seen glowing in the fog.

"Now both of us can only Special Summon once per turn!" he said grinning, as he knew that he was going to Special Summon the monster he just got. "Such a shame… All that damage you took, and you can't even use the monster you just got!" he sneered at Playmaker.

"Wrong! I will defeat you with that monster!" Playmaker declared, "I now activate the Spell, Power Void!" he said. "For every Cyberse monster I control, I can target 1 card you control and negate it effects or prevent it from activating!" he explained, shocking Vire for once.

"I target Batox Haze and your other face-down!" he said, as the targeted cards turned grey, losing their power. "Now appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" he said as the Link Portal appeared. "Damn it!" Vire swore, but was secretly smirking.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 or more monster except for Tokens!" he said.

"I now Set the Link 2 Flame Administrator and Dotscaper in the Link Markers!" he said as the Administrator and Dotscaper turned into twisters with Administrator's splitting into 2, they hit the Middle Left and Middle Right, while Dotscaper hit the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3 Cyberse Accelerator!" he yelled as a figure in a hi-tech grey jumpsuit with five fins on the back of it, the monster was typing something onto a hard-light screen near it's hand. It was Summoned to the Right Extra Monster Zone.

 **Cyberse Accelerator: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"Yes! This monster along with the card in our Hand will make us-" Ai said, "Thanks for that, now you have another time limit!" Vire whispered, shocking Playmaker. "When a monster that Venom points to leaves the field as Material to Summon a Monster from the Extra Deck, at the end of the turn, you take damage equal to that monster's original ATK!" he yelled laughing. "And that damage can't be negated either!" he added.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth!" Playmaker said, "Since I Link Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Graveyard to a Zone a Link Monster I control points to!" he said, "I Summon back Decode Talker!" he said as Decode appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone that Accelerator pointed too, since it also pointed to Accelerator, Decode gained 500 ATK. **2300 + 500 = 2800** (Decode Talker)

"Battle! Decode Talker attack Batox Vial!" he ordered the Dark Code Talker, who charged at Venom with a battle cry. "Accelerator's effect!" he shouted out, "Once per turn, during the battle phase that a Cyberse monster it points battles, I can activate one of two effects!" he said as a scroll wheel appeared, he then picked his choice.

"I choose the first, which gives Decode Talker 2000 ATK until the end of the turn!" he explained, **2800 + 2000 = 4800** (Decode Talker), "4800 ATK!" Vire yelled in shock, honestly believing he would've survived the damage. But now-

"Decode End!" Playmaker yelled as Decode slashed his sword down at Vial, cutting the monster in half, with them then exploding. **3100 – 3700 = 0** (Vire) Vire wasn't really affected by the explosion, and just remained standing on his D-Board, "Good game Playmaker! But now choose! Me or the Hostages!" he reminded as he started his retreat.

Playmaker: **WIN**

Vire: **LOSE**

"Damn it! He made sure that even if he did lose, he could get away while we went back to save them!" Ai analysed the plan. "Yeah..." Playmaker said, disappointed that the Knight was getting away.

"Yusaku! Hurry!" Shoichi said, as a timer had appeared on his screen, it had started at 30 seconds, "Right!" Playmaker said as the turned around to head back to the rooftop. "Hmm, Playmaker, such as good play thing..." Vire muttered with a grin as he logged out...

* * *

 **Damien's Office (after Vire logged out)**

Back in his Office, Damien opened his eyes as the sphere disappeared, "Such as shame, but now I know more for next time..." he said to himself, just then his phone rang, he looked at it, and discovered that he had more than 3 messages from Akira.

"Hello?" he asked, picking the phone up, "Damien! Where have you been!?" Akira asked, "S-Sorry sir! But the coffee gave me a skin rash..." he lied, "I've been to the bathroom to-" he went to add, "Nevermind! We need your help!" Akira said, then went to explained what was happening now.

"Sorry sir, but I won't be able to help in that much time!" Damien replied back, veining sadness. "Damn!" he head Akira swear, "Is there anything we can do?" Damien asked, "No… We'll just have to prey that Playmaker can save them..." he heard Akira plead…

* * *

 **Back in Link VRAINS, (a few second after Vire logged out)**

"Yamamoto… If we don't survive this… I just want you to know, that you were the best boss I ever had!" Pigeon cried out, virtual tears spilling down his face. "Thank you Pigeon, you too were a good partner..." Frog cried as well…

"But… STOP CALLING ME BY MY REAL NAME!" he screamed, as the counter hit 0, "Ahhhhhh!" the two screamed as the cage started to plummet, "No!" Playmaker yelled, having arrived just too short.

The audience and everyone watching looked away, not wanting to see them go splat…

…

…

But there wasn't a splat of any kind, "Are we dead?" Frog asked, "No!" a voice shouted confidently, everyone that looked away, looked back and was shocked that the two were saved, by none other than Go Onizuka on his D-Board.

"It's Go Onizuka! Go has saved the hostages! What a hero folks!" the MC cheered, making everyone relieved that they were okay… Physically of course.

"Thank you Go!" Frog and Pigeon cried out in joy, hugging each other, "Your welcome!" Go said as he landed the D-Board on the ground, dropping the cage, which de-materialised, making the two in it, land on there bottoms.

With this, people started to crowd the two, asking them question, "Get lost! This is our scoop!" Frog yelled, arms flailing about.

Go was watching this from the side, "Go Onizuka!" a voice shouted, making Go look up to see Playmaker approaching him. "Playmaker!" Go yelled back with a smirk as Playmaker landed. "Why did you get involved?" he asked.

"As king of Link VRAINS, I must protect my people..." Go said, "But now that you're here, what do you say. Care for another Duel?" he asked, lifting his Duel Disk arm. "No." Playmaker said as he quickly logged out.

"Maybe next time..." Go said, as he looked back to see the reporters making their way over to him, "Time for my close up..." he muttered to himself, as the reporters started to ask him questions. "Hey! What about us!" Frog yelled. "But boss, you told them to leave you alone..." Pigeon reminded as Frog suddenly fell to his knees, defeated… "Damn it..." he whispered…

* * *

 **Den City High School (After Playmaker logged out)**

"Well that was interesting..." Ai said as Yusaku was walking back to lunch, "Yeah..." he said, "Now we know that Hanoi is not someone to take lightly now..." he added, "What makes you say that?" Ai asked.

"Three things..." he said, "One: Vire, A Knight of Hanoi, took people hostage, meaning he has no morals at all..." he said, "Two, Vire was in fact a challenge to me, if it wasn't for the cards I got, I would've lost." he added, shocking Ai at this, "And Three: If Vire was that strong, Revolver as Leader of Hanoi, must be stronger that that!" he finished.

"We must be more cautious when facing Knights like Vire..." he added as he walked back into the cafeteria…

* * *

 **Knights of Hanoi's Base (10:13 PM)**

"I'm sorry Master Revolver, I've failed you..." Vire said with a bow to Revolver as Spectre, Faust, Baira, Dr Genome, Valcry, Talon and Ares, who was called back by Spectre, the lot were smirking at Vire's defeat.

"Yes you have… but you've also made Playmaker and world realise we are a real threat, and not to be taken lightly." Revolver said, "But they already saw us as a threat." Valcry said annoyed that Vire wasn't being punished.

"Yes, but they'll take us more seriously that they can..." he said back as Vire now smirked back at the lot that smirked at him, making them frown, except for Spectre.

"Now onto Mars, you're suspension is now over!" he said, shocking Mars, "But I have like two days lefted!" Ares said in shock, "True, but I think you've been punished enough..." Revolver said back. "Thank you Master!" Ares said bowing, "Now that Vire's plan is over with..." Revolver said, "We now move onto Project Another!" he said, making Talon scowl at the name.

"How much longer until your prototype of the sample is ready?" he asked, "A couple days..." Baira said, "And we must also make sure that the removal program is also working..." Faust said, perking Talon's interest. "Would it work for my sister?" Talon asked hopefully, "We have no idea, as the sample we collected from your sister was weakened to make it manageable." Faust explained, crushing his hope.

"The structure of your father's creation is most impressive!" Dr Genome said gleefully, suddenly Talon got in his face, shocking him, "Don't... talk about... him!" Talon breathed out. "Talon! Calm yourself!" Revolver demanded, "Fine..." he said backing off.

"Wait! Was Vire's Duel the reason why Spectre called me for CodeBuster's contact number?" Ares said looking at Spectre, "Correct! As Codebuster, even if he some how got through Vire's program, would still be there to save them." Spectre said.

"Speaking off Codebuster..." Valcry said...

* * *

 **Data Recycling Centre, (same time)**

Within the sewer like system, still looking around, and now annoyed was a pissed off Codebuster, who had somehow scared off the monster the fifth time he encounter it. Currently he was looking through the map he had, to see where the files where... but they had vanished completely. "AGHHHHHHH! WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!?" he screamed out, his voice echoing through out the tunnels, a data monster was trembling at what it thought was a roar...

End of Chapter 5

* * *

 **Hayato Tsubasa is the creation of Crow38, and the counterpart to Talon. Vire and Damien are created by OPFan37, and Akane Yamamoto is by Assassinkai742, whose Virtual Counterpart will be seen later...**

 **OC cards**

 **(Playmaker)**

 **Access Denied**

 **Counter Trap**

Should your opponent's card effect target and a Cyberse-Type monster(s) you control: Negate the activation of that effect, then draw 1 card for every Cyberse-Type monster that would've been a target for that effect. Should you take damage during the first battle of either turn: Banish this card from your Graveyard, and if you do, reduce all battle damage you take for the rest of the turn to 0.

 **Rating Draw**

 **Normal Spell**

Tribute 1 Link 2 or higher Link Monster you control: Draw 1 card x the Link Rating of that tributed monster, but then send 2 cards to the Graveyard. You can only activate 1 "Rating Draw" once per turn.

 **Power Void**

 **Normal Spell**

Target 1 card for every Cyberse-Type monster you control: Negate that card's effect (if face-up) or prevent that card from activating it's effect (if face-down). These changes last until the end of the turn.

 **(Security Guard)**

 **B.E.S Big Core Galactic Cruiser**

 **DARK [Machine/Link/Effect,] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

2 "B.E.S" monsters.

When this card is Special Summoned: Place 3 counters on this card. This card and the monsters it points to cannot be destroyed by battle. At the end of the damage step if this card attacked or was attacking, remove 1 counter from this card. Once per turn, when a counter is removed from a "B.E.S" monster this card points to: Place 2 counters on this card. Once per turn, remove 2 counters from this card, target 1 card your opponent controls, and 1 card in their Hand, destroy them. When this card has no counters on it, destroy it, then Special Summon 1 "B.E.S" monster from your Deck.

 **(Talon) (Crow38 idea's but my designs)**

 **Raidraptor - Recruit Strix**

 **DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/500 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

1 "Raidraptor" monster

Once per turn, when this card doesn't point to a monster: Special Summon from your Deck, 1 "Raidraptor" monster in DEF to the Main Monster Zone this card points to. Once per turn, when this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: (Quick Effect) Special Summon 1 "Raidraptor" from your Hand, it cannot be destroyed for the rest of the turn.

 **Raidraptor - Cryptic Falcon**

 **DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙⬇

2 "Raidraptor" monsters

When this card is Link Summoned: Target cards in your opponent's GY, up to the number of "Raidraptor" monsters this card points to, banish those cards in Graveyard, and if you do, this card and "Raidraptor" monsters this card points to gain 200 ATK until the end of the turn. Once per turn, when a "Raidraptor" monster this card points to is being attacked or is attacking: (Quick Effect) Negate that attack, target 1 monster this card points to to your Hand, and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to the ATK of the targeted monster until the end of the turn.

 **Raidraptor - Commanding Falcon**

 **DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

1 Rank 4 or higher "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster

When this card is Link Summoned: Target 1 "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster in your Graveyard, Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone that a "Raidraptor" Link Monster points to. This card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster with the highest Rank on your Field. Once per turn, you can send 1 "Raidraptor" card in your Hand to the Graveyard, add 1 "Rank Up Magic" from your Deck or Graveyard to your Hand.

 **(Vire) (OPFan37)**

 **Vire's Skill:**

 **Toxicity Control**

When your opponent Normal or Special Summons monsters: Normal Summon 1 "Batox" monster from your Deck, even if it's your opponent's turn, but if that monster is destroyed that turn; destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

 **Batox Cloud**

 **WATER, Level: 3 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/1200**

During either battle phase: All "Batox" monsters you control gain 300 ATK, while your opponent's monsters lose 300 ATK until the end of the turn. Once per turn, when another "Batox" monster you control leaves the field by battle or card effect: Target 1 monster you opponent controls, it loses ATK equal to the ATK of that "Batox" monster.

 **Batox Needle**

 **DARK ,Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/900**

When this card is Summoned: target 1 monster your opponent controls, it cannot declare an attack, change it's battle position, or leave the field in anyway until the end of the turn. Once per turn, when this card destroys a monster by battle: Gain 500 Life Points.

 **Batox Bullet**

 **FIRE, Level: 4 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/500**

When this card is Summoned: Target 1 monster your opponent controls, (face-up or set) it's effects are negated, and if it's flipped face-up (if set) it's FLIP effect cannot be activated. Once per turn, when you control another "Batox" monster: Target 1 card you opponent controls, destroy it, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

 **Batox Mushroom**

 **DARK, Level: 1 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/500 DEF/0**

Once per turn, when your opponent Special Summons a monster: (Quick Effect) you can tribute this card, and if you do, that Summoned monster's ATK become 0, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the ATK that monster lost.

 **Batox Vial**

 **DARK, Level: 3 [Winged Beast/Effect] ATK/1100 DEF/1600**

If this card is Normal Summoned: you can reduce the ATK and DEF of all monsters your opponent controls by 800 until the end of the turn. When your opponent controls a monster(s) whose ATK is different, target the monster with the lowest original ATK: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the original ATK of that monster. You can only activate each effect of "Batox Vial" once per turn.

 **Batox Swarming**

 **Continious Spell**

You can only activate this card if you control a "Batox" monster. Once per turn, during the end phase of the turn a "Batox" monster is destroyed: (Quick Effect) Special Summon 1 "Batox" monster from your Deck, that has a different name to the destroyed monster but that monster cannot activate it's effect upon being Summoned with this card. If you control no "Batox" monsters: Destroy this card.

 **Batox Bloody Guard**

 **Normal Trap**

During your opponent's battle phase, during the first battle when a monster they control attacks a Batox monster: That monster loses 400 ATK for "Batox" monster you control with a different name, then after that monster has battled, end the battle phase. When a Batox monster is destroyed the turn this card is activated: Add 1 "Batox" card from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Batox Haze**

 **Continious Trap**

You can activate this card, if you control a "Batox" monster and your opponent Special Summons a monster(s). Both Player's can only Special Summon 1 monster once per turn.

 **Batox Poison**

 **DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↖⬆

2 "Batox" monsters

This card gains 200 ATK for every other "Batox" monster you control with a different name. Once per turn, when a monster(s) this card points to is affected by the effect of a "Batox" monster: (Quick Effect) you can target 1 of them, destroy it, and if you do, all other monsters your opponent controls lose ATK equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster until the end of the turn it was destroyed.

 **Batox Venom**

 **DARK [Winged Beast/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↖⬆↗

2+ "Batox" monsters

This card gains 300 ATK for every other "Batox" monster you control. Monsters affected by "Batox" monster effect are treated as "Batox" monsters, and you can use them as Link Material. Monsters this card points have their effects negated and their ATK cut in half, but they cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Once per turn, when a monster this card points to is used as Material to Special Summon a monster from the Extra Deck, at the end of the turn: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of the monster used as Material, and that damage cannot be negated.

 **Sorry this took awhile to get out, life gets in the way... anyways, I'll see you lot in the next chapter, where two none OC's Deck will be debuted... Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6: Well that was fast

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or Speaking from TV_ "

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story (7:21 AM)**

It was the day after the hostage incident, and the news was still talking about it, due to this, the Frog and Pigeon Channel was shut down for a while, due to the stress the two had suffered, but they said they'd be back soon.

"Hmmm..." Matoyia hummed, glaring at his bowl of cereal annoyed, "What are trying to do? Boil the milk with your glare?" Asuka joked lightly, but this earn her a glare from him, who then returned her own glare…

…

…

"Could you two please stop..." Aito whispered, a bit uncomfortable with the glaring, this snapped the two out of it, "Sorry..." Matoyia softly said, moving the cereal around, "Look you had no idea that it happened..." Asuka said to him gently.

"Still, with the info I was given, I should've realised that Hanoi was behind my contract..." Matoyia gritted out. After he logged out last night, having given up on the contract, he had been informed by a crazed Asuka, asking where he had been doing. He told her, and she told him what had happened while he did his thing.

With the info he was given, which was not much from the client, and that the hostage situation took place like 30 minutes after he was in the Data Recycling Centre, he deduced that Hanoi had made the contract to get him out of the way.

Due to this, he had received many rude comments on the Codebuster Fan page, that a fan made for him, " _Why he wasn't there?_ ", " _What was he doing that was so important?_ "… Were just some of the friendlier comments.

"Hanoi must now see me as a threat, so they need to get me out the way to get to Playmaker." he muttered to himself, "So that means I need to really try to Duel and win against Playmaker to get the Ignis, then it should end… right?" he told them.

"Right..." Asuka said, then looked to her brother, "Something wrong sweety?" she asked, "Not much, just this guy at school..." Aito said, "What guy? Is he bullying you?! I'll kick his as-" Asuka went to say, but Matoyia stopped her.

"What about the guy?" he asked, silencing her, "Not much, I just get this weird vibe from him..." Aito said, thinking back to the blue and pink haired boy that stared at him yesterday. "Do you have a name on him?..." Asuka said calmer this time.

"No… But maybe I can talk to him about it." Aito said, "Okay, just try not to be threatening to the guy..." Matoyia joked, "But I don't look like threat, do I?" Aito asked, making Matoyia hit his head on the table, while Asuka laughed at his innocence's, confusing Aito…

* * *

 **Den City High School (7:54 PM)**

Just at the gate approaching the school, was Yusaku, no one else was around, so he let Ai be un-muted, "Why are you bringing me back again?" Ai asked, he'd rather be at Yusaku's home, where Reboppy could help him get away.

"Because of what happened yesterday, I need my Duel Disk to get into Link VRAINS quickly, just in case Vire or another Knight will attack again." Yusaku explained. "Fine… but seeing that we can talk freely, what is up with that monster in the Data Storm?" Ai asked, as just yesterday, while Playmaker was using Storm Access, the same monster appeared for a third time.

"That monster is really wanting out of the Data Storm. I say we let it out. It must be powerful!" it said, "No. Every monster we've gotten so far has helped us in a situation, what if we did get that monster, and it didn't fit the situation?" Yusaku said.

"Hmm… Good point." it said, Ai then looked back to see someone approaching from behind, "Someone's coming." it whispered, Yusaku having heard this, muted Ai discretely, and just continued walking like normal.

"Excuse me..." the person behind him muttered, making Yusaku stop and look back, where he saw Aito Haru walking up to him, "Hi..." Yusaku said as Aito got close, who then rubbed his forehead. "Hi..." Aito said back meakly.

"What do you want?" Yusaku asked as the two started walking again, "I just wanted to introduce myself… I'm Aito Haru." Aito introduced himself, "I know. Naoki Shima told me a few days ago." Yusaku said as Aito rubbed his forehead again.

"Oh!… Well, what's your name?..." Aito asked, "Yusaku Fujiki." Yusaku answered, "Yusaku… Nice name." Aito said with a small smile, "Thanks..." Yusaku said, for a few minutes, they walked in silence, where more students appeared as the two got inside the building.

"Can I ask you something?" Aito asked, "Sure..." Yusaku said, "Why were you staring at me yesterday for?..." he asked, making Yusaku pause, "No particular reason..." Yusaku lied, "Please don't lie..." Aito said, shocking Yusaku slightly, but he didn't show it.

"There must've been something else..." he added, for a few moments, "Alright, the real reason was that… You had the same aura as me!" Yusaku finally said, "You too? I got the same aura from you… But yours was a bit stronger!" Aito said back.

" _He felt my aura was the same as his?_ " Yusaku thought, "That's weird..." Yusaku said, uninterested on the outside, but inside he was slightly interested in what he said, "Do you Duel?" Aito asked, rubbing his head again as he noticed the Duel Disk in Yusaku's bag sticking out.

"Not much..." Yusaku said, as he noticed the rubbing, "You?" he asked back, making Aito go quiet, "Not in a long time..." Aito said, thinking back to then… but he snapped himself out of that.

A few more minutes, the two were now outside of their classroom, "Here we are..." Aito said, "Right, bye!" Yusaku said, walking in, "Wait!" Aito shouted slightly, making Yusaku stop to look back, and the shouting made Aito blush slightly, "Listen… Do you think that we could..." he said but trailled off.

"What?" Yusaku asked, "I said, do you think we could..." Aito paused, "Be friends?..." he finished, Yusaku having heard this, didn't say anything for a while, making Aito nervous about a rejection. "You don't have too, I just thought… it would be nice..." he added, "I get the feeling that you're like me… someone without that many friends… or none at al-" he further added when.

"Sure." Yusaku finally said, shocking Aito, "Really?..." he asked surprised, "Yeah… You're right, I don't have many friends, and this one guy that is a friend, says I should make more..." Yusaku said, "Thanks..." Aito said smiling as he rubbed his head again.

"Why do you keep rubbing your head?" Yusaku asked, "Oh! I don't really do it a lot, it's just it feel like there's a buzzing in my head!" he explained, "And don't take this the wrong way, but it started today, while I was walking next to you!" he added.

"Alright, just tell me if you're okay." Yusaku said concerned, "I will. Later..." he said walking into the room and taking his sit. "Why were you talking to Haru for?" Naoki asked, coming out of nowhere, "When did you get here?" Yusaku asked.

"A few moments ago, but seriously though, are you going to be friends with Aito?" Naoki asked, this made Yusaku look back at Aito, who felt him staring, looked back, and smile slightly, "Yes..." he answered, smiling, not that he knew.

"Good for you bro! I knew my charm to make friends would rub off on you!" Naoki gloated, unaware that Yusaku had lefted and was now sitting down at the back. While Naoki continued to talk, not realising no one was listening, AnDru Plast who was in the room before, was looking at Yusaku and Aito.

" _There's something off about him..._ " AnDru thought looking at Yusaku, he had been thinking about it since he noticed Yusaku walk off yesterday during the Hostage Incident. "What you thinking about?" A girl that looked nearly like him asked, this was AnDru's twin sister, AnDra Plast, who had the same coloured hair, but it was longer, reaching just past her shoulders, she also wore the girl's school uniform, she was sitting by his left.

"Not much..." he said back to her, smiling, who then returned the smile, a bit more lovingly, Yusaku saw this but didn't do a thing… not that he cared to begin with. But within his bag, Ai seemed to be irritated by something, " _God, it's feels like something is buzzing..._ " it thought, as it had started to feel like this the second Aito got near them...

* * *

 **Café Haru, (12:34 AM)**

"Hmmm…." Asuka glared out, standing near the window leading to outside, staring at the other side of the street. "What are you doing over there?" Matoyia asked from the counter, as the customers were a bit confused by her behaviour.

"Staring down the competition..." she said, looking away at the café that was on the other side of the street, it had been there for about a month, and it was just a popular as her Café… she didn't like that.

With that comment, the customers left her alone, "Why do you bother, we're doing fine. They're no threat to us..." he told her, "I know, but it's just a bit rude to open a café near another café ." she said, not looking at him.

"True..." he said as he took an order, "But again, you have nothing to worry about..." he said, "Fine..." she said, taking one last glance at the store opposite her, then looked up at the sign. "The 8-Bit Café..." she muttered, then turned to go back behind the counter…

* * *

 **The 8-Bit Café, (a few minutes earlier)**

The inside of this Cafe was a bit retro theme, as near the walls were actual vintage arcade games, which made it popular with game lovers, there was also a small corner that sold comic books, again making it popular with comic book lovers.

"Hi! How can we help you today?" a girl behind the counter asked Hiroshi Akiyama, who suddenly shuddered, having felt like someone was giving him a glare, "You okay sir?" she asked, "Oh yeah… Get me a Molten Chocolate Latte please." he asked.

"Right, Java! One Molten Chocolate Latte please!" she told her co-worker, who was the Barista. "Coming right up!" Java Sky told her. Java Sky was a 17 year old male teen, he had black hair that was in a short pony tail. His eyes were blue, which were framed by his black frame glasses, and for clothing he wore white shirt, that was under the green apron with the café's logo on it, and blue jeans as well as black sneakers.

"Don't you look a bit young to have a job… and shouldn't you be in school?" Hiroshi asked, "Not really, this is only part time… And as for the school thing, I take an online class." Java answered, as he added the finishing touches to the Latte.

"Here you are! That will be 500 Yen please." he told him, with this Hiroshi got the money out and paid, then made his way over to the comic book section to read the comic book he purchased. "Really? You take an online class? What about actually going to school like a normal person?" she asked him.

"Yeah really, and I just don't feel like going to school like everyone else, hence why I took an online course..." he explained as he took back to cleaning his station.

At 1 PM, it started to calm down, "Hey can I take my break?" Java asked, "Sure, you have an hour." she told him, making him smile, as he went out back, to take his apron off, and grab his Duel Disk, which was a really old model, it was used back Neo Domino City, within a Prison no less.

With this, he went back out front, and made his way over to the VR section, which had about several VR chairs lined up, and connected to the chairs by a curled wire was a VR Headset. He put on his Duel Disk, put in his Deck, connected the Duel Disk to the Headset he was going to use, and put it on.

"Into the VRAINS..." he said, as the Headset booted up, with him smiling…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS… (a few minutes later)**

Now appearing from a portal on the main street of the city area was a man who looked like he was born in the Steampunk Era. He had brown unkept hair and red eyes, and wore a dark brown trench coat, that was trimmed with brass and had sew on button on it, with a few mechanical gears here and there on it, under this he wore and woolly sweater also had a light wore out top hat, which had a dirty purple band near the base, which also had old pair of goggle on it. On his back was steampunk like back-pack, and tuck into his right breast pocket was a pocket watch on a chain.

This was VictoryCrafter, Java's alter ego… Freelancer, no real occupation, he would if he could land a proper job… without insulting the employer by hacking their systems and telling them where they can improve… like he thinks people want to hear that.

"Good day!" he said waving to fellow users as he walked about, just admiring the area around him, and the Data Storm Stream above him, " _Now what can I do in an hour?_ " he thought looking around, a few minutes later, he just sat down near the virtual version of Den City National Park.

"Well this has gone well..." he muttered to himself a bit bored, a few more minutes went by when a group of what appeared to be thugs appeared, along with two penguins for some reason. "Oh no! Not the Data-Bytes!" he heard one civilian yelled, "Alright everyone, clear out! This is our turf!" a member of the Data-Bytes yelled.

With this everyone started to clear out… except for VictoryCrafter, who just stayed sitting and tilted his hat forward and put his hands together. Noticing this, the gang made their way over to him, smirks and grins on their faces.

"Hey! Did you not hear me Punk!?" the leader, who stood at about 6'2 ft asked growling, "Oh I heard..." VictoryCrafter said, "Good… Now scram!" he yelled, "I think not..." VictoryCrafter said leaning back… where his head hit the chest of the Data-Byte member standing behind him.

"That wasn't a request..." the leader threatened, "Oh… Well still no." he said, not intimidated at all, "And why not?" a female member asked, annoyed, "Because you don't own this place, so you can't tell anyone to scram as you say." he told them as he stood up to walk a few feet away from them.

"But I did claim it, so get out!" the leader yelled annoyed, "Fine… If you believe that you own it, how about we Duel for it." VictroyCrafter said, just loud enough for the people getting away to stop and turn back.

"A Duel? Against me old timer!" the leader asked with laugh, "Why not? I've Duelled people who are older than you" he said, "Better than you as well!" he said, shocking every member at this, no one ever dissed their leader, he was feared for a reason.

"What was that..." the Leader growled out now mad at the punk who just dissed him, "Leader Fuyro! Please calm down!" a member gently asked, placing his hand on his leader's shoulder, who quickly shook it off.

"Get off me man!" he yelled glaring back at him, he then turned back to VictoryCrafter, who was grinning, "Fine then old timer, let's Duel! But when I win, you have to leave, and then never show your weak-ass face in front of me again!" he declared.

"Alright, but when I win, you have to leave and never return. Deal?" he asked, "Deal!" Fuyro said, as the two moved away from each other to get ready…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (same time)**

Within the cafeteria was Naoki, Yusaku near him as well as Aito, as the two were having lunch and Naoki just sat near him, "It's nice that you two are friends..." Naoki said as he played with his notepad, trying to see if there were any Duels taking place.

"What are you doing?..." Aito asked, "Just looking for any Duels taking place in Link VRAINS!" he told him, "Anything..." Yusaku asked, a bit interested, due to the fact he was his source of info if a Knight of Hanoi showed up, he thought he should stick near Naoki in the near future for this very reason.

"No… Oh wait!" Naoki yelled, gaining the attention of other students, this included AnDru, his sister, and their other friend Ayano Matsumoto, who was a year older than both of them, as well as being a foot taller than them, she had slightly tanned skin, and had red long hair, that reached past her shoulders, and she wore the same uniform as AnDra, but the blue was a pink-red.

"Is that the National Park in Link VRAINS?" AnDra asked, "Yeah… and it looks like someone's going up against the Data-Byte's Leader!" AnDru said, shocking most people, Yusaku and Aito were not shocked.

"Data-Bytes?" Yusaku asked, "A gang of Cyber Thugs, who mostly terrorise the people in Link VRAINS." AnDru explained to him, "Seriously, you don't know who the Data-Bytes are?! How behind are you!?" Naoki asked mockingly.

"Anyways… I don't think we've introduce ourselves..." AnDru said, "I'm AnDru Plast." he said, "This is my twin sister, AnDra Plast." he said waving to his sister, "Hi!" she said waving energetically, "And this is Ayano Matsumoto." he said, introducing his other friend. "Hello." she said.

"Yusaku Fujiki..." Yusaku introduced himself, "Aito Haru..." Aito said, "Quiet! They're going to start soon!" Naoki said, "Who's the other guy! The guy dressed in Steampunk?" a random student asked, "Oh that's VictoryCrafter!.A Freelancer." AnDru answered...

* * *

 **Back in Link VRAINS…**

"So it's agreed, if you win, I'll leave forever and never been in the same area as you..." VictoryCrafter said, "And if you somehow win against me, I'll leave and never come back..." Fuyro said. The two then lifted their Duel Disk's.

"DUEL!" the two shouted drawing five cards each, as they were having a Master Duel.

VictoryCrafter's LP: **4000**

Fuyro's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'll go first!" VictoryCrafter said, "I Normal Summon Block Mob - Slime!" he said, placing the card onto his Blade, due to the fact that he used an old version, appearing in the Middle Monster Zone was a big square green block of slime, within it was a smaller block of darker green slime, with some eyes.

 **Block Mob - Slime: WATER, Level: 4 [Aqua/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/** 1000

"Then I activate the Field Spell, Block Biome – Snowy!" he said, placing the card into the Field Zone, this cards square patches of snow to blanket the field, the audience that gathered were amazed.

"When this card is activated, I can add a Level 5 or higher Block Mob monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he said, as a card was ejected from his Deck, which he took. "Also, WATER monsters on the field cannot attack, change their battle position, and have their effects negated." he told them, confusing Fuyro.

"What are you up to dumbass!?" Fuyro spat out, "You'll see… I now set two cards face-down and end my turn!" he said as two cards appeared face-down then faded. "Your up lad!" he said, smirking.

VictoryCrafter's Hand x 2

 **Turn 2**

"Don't call me lad old timer! I draw!" Fuyro yelled drawing his card, "I activate the Spell, Foolish Burial! To send Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair to the Graveyard from my Deck!" he said as the Duel Dick told him it was now in the Graveyard.

"Then I Normal Summon Ahrima, the Wicked Warden!" he said, waving his hand over the card, making a demonic dog appear in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Ahrima, the Wicked Warden: DARK, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 0

"Counter Trap, Block Lava Ravine!" VictoryCrafter yelled as his one of his face-downs flipped up, "When you summon non FIRE monsters, I can destroy one of them!" he said, as a pit of square lava appeared underneath Ahrima, who then burst into particles.

"Then if that monster is destroyed, I can set this card back face-down..." he said as the card went back face-down, "And then I activate Snowy's effect!" he said, During either turn, I can shuffle it back into my Deck..." he said as he took the card, placed it back in his Deck, which shuffled itself.

"Then I activate a Block Biome Field Spell from my Hand or Deck!" he said, "I activate Block Biome - Lush!" he said as the card appeared in the Field Zone, this caused the snow around them to melt, and appearing from it was a lush blocky jungle.

"Now during your turn, I can Special Summon 1 Block Mob monster from my Deck, but its effects are negated!" he explained.

"I Summon Block Mob Guardian!" he said, as a giant blue-sh green square puffer fish with orange points sticking out of it, it also had one red eye. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Block Mob - Guardian: WATER, Level: 8 [Fish/Effect] ATK/3000 DEF/** 0

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Equaliser!" Fuyro yelled, as the card appeared on the field, "Since you Special Summoned a monster, I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Hand or Graveyard that has the same Level as the monster you summoned!" he said smirking.

"Now rise! Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair!" he yelled as a colossal demonic black dragon appeared with a roar, it was Summoned to the Middle Main Zone.

 **Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair: DARK, Level: 8 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/3000 DEF/** 2000

"Then I activate the Spell, Reset Summon!" he said, "When a Normal Summoned monster leaves the field during the turn it was Summoned, I can Special Summon it back!" he said Ahrima appeared back in the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Then I can Normal Summoned again! But I won't." he said, "I now activate the Field Spell, Lair of Darkness!" he said, this card a dark fog to appear within the jungle.

"Now all monster face-up become DARK!" he said smirking, "And that's not all, as I can now tribute DARK monsters you control for card effects!" he added, "Like now! I activate Darkest Diabolos's effect!" he shouted.

"Once per turn, I can tribute 1 DARK monster, which will be your Guardian!" he said as the Guardian turned into particles, "I can target 1 card in your Hand, and either place it on the top or bottom of your Deck!" he yelled grinning.

"I target the card on the left and put in on top!" he said, making VictoryCrafter place the selected card on top of his Deck, "Battle! Darkest Diabolos will attack that stupid Slime!" he yelled as Diabolos breathed in, then releashed a dark flame of the Slime, causing an explosion.

"Ha! That's what you get from trying to out smart me!" Fuyro grinned sadistically, "Way to go boss!" a gang member cheered, "That'll show him!" another said, "Now Ahrima will-" he said, but stopped when the explosion cleared. VictoryCrafter was unharmed. VictoryCrafter's LP: **4000 = 4000**.

"How!?" Fuyro yelled in shock, "Simple. Slime's effect ensures that no battle damage is dealt involving it!" he explained.

"And then, when Slime is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon 2 Block Mob - Slime Tokens with half the ATK and DEF in ATK position!" he said as his Duel Dick generated two Token monster cards which he put onto his blade in the Middle and Right Main Monster Zones, appearing were two Slimes, that were smaller than the original.

 **Block Mob - Slime Token: WATER, Level: 4 [Aqua/Token] ATK/500 DEF/** 500 **(x2)**

"Fine! Ahrima will attack the Token on the Right!" Fuyro ordered, as the demonic dog charged and bit the smile, destroying it, making some of the slime hit VictoryCrafter, **4000 – 1200 = 2800**. (VictoryCrafter)

"I place a card face-down and end my turn!" he said as the card appeared, then faded. "With it ending, Lair of Darkness's other effect activates!" he said, "Once per turn, I can Special Summon as many Torment Tokens, up to the number of monsters that were tributed this turn in Defense!" he explained.

"It was 1, so I Summon 1!" he said as a dark smokey spirit monster appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Torment Token: DARK, Level: 3 [Fiend/Token] ATK/** 1000 **DEF/1000**

Fuyro's Hand x 0

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I draw!" VictoryCrafter drew his card, the card that he had to place on top last turn. "Because I control a Block Mob monster, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand!" he said revealing the card.

"Appear! Block Mob - Spider!" he said placing the card onto the Left Main Monster Zone, and appearing was a black grey blocky spider, with eight stick like legs. It hissed as it appeared.

 **Block Mob - Spider: EARTH, Level: 6 [Insect/Effect] ATK/2200 DEF/** 1600

* * *

"Are his monsters based off Minecraft?" Matoyia asked, as he and everyone else in Café Haru was watching the Duel. "Man I haven't played that game for so long..." a customer said thinking back to that wonderous game.

* * *

"Then I activate the Continious Spell, Block Spawner!" he said as the card appeared on the field, the picture it had a small cage like device, inside it were small block like monsters.

"Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Block Mob monster from the Graveyard!" he said, "So I Summon back Guardian!" he said as Guardian appeared the Right Main Monster Zone.

"And then I activate the Trap, Block TNT!" he said as his other face-down flipped up, "TNT!? That can't be good!" Noaki yelled, "When this card is activated, you take 200 damage for every card on the field!" he shouted, shocking Fuyro.

"I control 7, as TNT is included with its effect, and you control 5, meaning thats 12, so you take 2400 damage!" he said as the TNT card exploded, the explosion reaching over Fuyro and his gang, making them shield their eyes. Fuyro's LP: **4000 – 2400 = 1600**.

"Now appear! The Circuit that will build my Victory!" he shouted, as sparks flew from his hand, and made the Link Portal appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Block Mob monsters." he said.

"I now set the Slime Token and Guardian in the Link Markers!" he declared as the two monsters turned into blocky twisters, the Slime Token hit the Middle Bottom, while Guardian hit the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Block Elder - Guardian!" he shouted, as he took the Link Monster card from his Extra Deck, and placed it in the Extra Monster Zone to his left that appeared on his blade.

And appearing on the field, In a splash on cubed water was a monster similar to Guardian, but the colour scheme was different, and it was bigger, the colour on the body was a pale brown, with darker shades on it, and the spikes were longer and a blue-ish lavender, and it's eye was orange.

 **Block Mob - Elder Guardian: WATER [Fish/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬇↘

"That thing is huge!" one of the gang members screamed, "Elder Guardian's effect!" Victory Crafter shouted, "When Link Summoned using a Guardian, it's original ATK become 3000!" he said shocking them, Elder Guardian's ATK: **2000 = 3000**.

"I now activate Lush's effect! He said, "I shuffle it back into my Deck, and activate another Block Biome Field Spell!" he said, as he did just that, "I activate Block Biome - Ocean!" he said as the jungle faded, and taking it's place was water… Lots of it!

"You crazy man! Your going to drown us all!" Fuyro yelled, as he clinged to Darkest Diabolos, who was now flying. "Not really, everyone is fine, see..." VictoryCrafter said as pointed to the civilians, who were amazed as they watched fish, similar to his monsters swim about them, they appeared to have no trouble breathing.

"Now once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 WATER monster from my Hand!" he said, "So now I Summon a second Guardian!" he said, as a second Guardian appeared in the Middle Monster Zone that Elder Guardian pointed to.

"Battle! Elder Guardian will attack that Torment Token!" he said, "Wrong dumbass! I activate the Trap, Darklight!" Fuyro said grinning as his face-down flipped up.

"I tribute a DARK monster with 1500 or more ATK, which will be Ahrima!" he said as Ahrima burst into particles. "Then I can destroy all monsters you control that were Special Summoned the turn its activated!" he said smirking, as this would get rid of all his monsters.

"Wrong! As Ocean's effect activates!" VictoryCrafter yelled, "As I control WATER monsters I can tribute one of them, which will be Guardian!" he said as the Guardian burst into particles, "Now all Block Mob monster that would be destroyed by that card effect are not!" he explained shocking Fuyro as a wave came out of nowhere and stopped Darklight's effect from going through.

"The battle continues!" he reminded, Elder Guardian destroyed the Token, but since it was in Defense, no damage was dealt to Fuyro, "Then with Spider's effect, It can attack your directly for half the damage!" he said as Spider jumped over to Fuyro, and bite him. **1600 – 1** **100 = 500** (Fuyro)

"I end my turn..." he said smiling, making Fuyro sigh in relief, "Why are sighing? I still have something to do." he said, shocking Fuyro, "During the end of my turn, Elder's effect deals you 500 damage for every monster it points to!" he said shocking the gang as a spike from Elder hit Fuyro, knocking him over. **500 – 500 = 0** (Fuyro)

"And that my dear chap, is that!" VictoryCrafter said as the field of cards started to faded.

VictoryCrafter: **WINS**

Fuyro: **LOSE**

"No way, the boss lost!" a member yelled in shock, as Fuyro slowly got up, "An OTK..." a civilian muttered, amazed, suddenly they started to cheer for VictoryCrafter, who bowed at this, "Thank you! Thank you!" he said waving at them.

"And now..." he said looking back at Fuyro, who was now standing again, but a bit scratched up, "You remember the deal, right?" he asked, making Fuyro growl, "Fine! Let's go you lot..." he growled out as he turned to leave, making his crew give rude hand gestures at VictoryCrafter, before they too turned and lefted after their leader.

"Well, that was interesting to say the least..." VictoryCrafter muttered, just then his Duel Disk beeped, he looked at it and saw the time, it was nearly 2 PM, "Oh my! I may as well log out." he said, he quickly turned back to the civilians.

"I hope you have a good day folks!" he said taking his hat off with a wave, then logging out…

* * *

 **The 8-Bit Café, (13:49 PM)**

With the chair now deactivated, Java took off the headset, unplugged his Duel Disk, and made his way back, and put his stuff away, put his apron back on and went to work again. "Did you have fun?" his co-worker/manager asked.

"Yeah! Had a great time..." he said, "What did you do? Go into a VR Royale?" she asked, as that was a popular MMORPG to play, and it could connect to Link VRAINS.

"Yep! Had a blast! I sniped a lot of noobs!" he lied, not that she knew, "Anyways, let's get you back to work!" she said, "Right!" he said as he proceeded to work…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (same time)**

"That was amazing!..." Aito said as the feed cut from Noaki's notepad, who was now fiddling with the device, "Sure was, VictoryCrafter was one step a head of that thug!" Ayano said as she rested her head on AnDru's head, as he sat down some time ago during the Duel.

"Stupid thing! Why are you bugging out!?" Naoki yelled at his tablet, shaking the thing, "I don't think that helping it..." AnDra muttered, "Maybe it's your Duel Disk..." he said, shocking Naoki, "My Duel Disk!? What's that got to do with it!?" Naoki yelled in shock, AnDru went to reply, but the bell rang, signalling that lunchtime was over now.

"Lunch is over. Let's go. See ya Ayano!" AnDru said, losing interest as he stood up, and headed out with everyone else.

"Hey wait! What were you going to say!?" Naoki yelled after him, but he, his sister and their friend, didn't look back.

"Geez, the nerve of that guy, right Yusaku and Aito?" he huffed out, hoping the two would back him up… but he got no reply as the two had left with everyone else, "Guys?..." he muttered, looking around confused…

* * *

 **Café Haru, (15:30 PM)**

"Right, my shift is over! See ya upstair Asuka!" Matoyia said taking his apron off and headed out back, "Okay. What do you want for dinner?" she yelled as she was still working, "Take out!" he said, "Order thai food!" she yelled.

"Kay!" he said as he made it upstairs, into the living room and kitchen area, where he used the phone to order the take out, which he asked to be delivered later on at 18:00 PM, they said yes, so he ended the call.

" _Now what to do..._ " he thought looking around the place, everything was mostly clean and tidy, so cleaning was out, "I suppose I could continuing working on the program, just in case Playmaker and his friend decide to get their IP back..." he muttered.

"Or I could go into VR Royale." he said, making up his mind quickly, he decided to go into his room… and play VR Royale for an hour, then work on the program. Besides… what are the chances of them trying it today?…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (16:28 PM)**

"That will be all for today class! Please revise for tomorrow's recap." the teacher said, this caused the students to start to pack up, along with the teacher, "Damn it!" Naoki yelled, tapping his Notepad in frustration, as it was still bugging out.

"Something wrong?" Yusaku asked, standing up, "Yeah! My Notepad is being stupid!" he yelled shaking the device, "Are you sure that's it?" AnDru said, as he approached them, "Oh hey AnDru!" he said.

"Later." Yusaku said, as he walked off, Aito followed him, so they could talk a bit more… Aito more than Yusaku. "By the way… What did you mean that my Duel Disk could be the problem? It's the newest version!" Naoki asked AnDru.

"Well, depending on how much time you use it, it could be infected easily by viruses..." AnDru explained, "But it shouldn't, it has the latest virus protection software!" Naoki yelled back, "That would only work for the Duel Disk, if the Notepad had the virus, and you connected it to your Duel Disk to watch Link VRAINS on the notepad, the virus could bypass the protection software!" he explained shocking Naoki.

"No! Does this mean I'll have to replace my tech!?" Naoki cried out as AnDru and his sister watched him breakdown with sweat drops. "No, you just need to reboot them. I could do that for you." he said.

"Really!? You know how to?" Naoki asked with hope, "Sure, I'm quite the tinkerer..." he said, then looked back at his sister, "Tell mom I'll be a bit late." he asked her, "Kay!" she said, giving him a peck on the cheek, then lefted.

"Wow! You and your sister must be close." Naoki said watching her go, "You have no idea..." AnDru muttered to himself, "What?" Naoki asked, "Nothing… Follow me." he said walking out the classroom, "Right!" Naoki said, picking up his stuff and following him…

* * *

 **City Area (10 minutes later)**

Within the main streets of the city was AnDru, with Naoki following him, "Where are we going? Your house?" he asked, making AnDru blush but he didn't see, "No… I don't have the proper equipment at home..." AnDru lied, but hopefully he wasn't smart enough to know.

"Alright." he said, turns out he wasn't smart! "So where to?" he asked, "To where I work part time." he answered, then stopped, but Naoki kept going and bumped into him, "Here we are." he said looking up at the sign that read "Matsumoto's Repairs!" he said reading the sign.

"Matsumoto?! Isn't that the name of that girl you hang out with?" Naoki asked, as AnDru walked in, "Yes, come on." he said holding the door open for him, who walked in. "Yo AnDru! What are you doing here!? You don't have work today." the manager said to him.

The manager was Daichi Mastumoto, Ayano's big brother, and the current owner of the store, as well as manager, he was 23 and like his sister, shared the same hair colour, but his was cut short. "I know, but I just need to help… What was your name again?" AnDru said to him, then looked back at Naoki.

"Naoki Shima." he answered gently, he wasn't going to shout at the person trying to help him. "Right, his Duel Disk maybe corrupted, so I need to reboot it. Can I?" he asked, "Sure! Knock yourself out, you are the Assistant Manager." Daichi said nonchalantly, then went back to deal with something.

"Thank.!" AnDru said making his way over to the counter that the staff use to make repairs and input software, "Wow! Are you really Assistant Manager!?" Naoki asked, "Sort of, since I work part-time, but he just gave me the title of it since I beat him in Dueling and other things so many times!" he answered as he plugged in Naoki's Duel Disk into the computer he was going to use.

"How many times?" he asked, "Altogether… About 64." he answered shocking him, "That's crazy! you've won that many times straight!?" he yelled, "Against him, yes." he answered, "Now let's see..." he said going through the Duel Disk's data.

About 10 minutes later, he had found the problem, "Found the virus… But it looks to be slightly stronger than I thought it would be." he said, shocking Naoki, "But you can get rid of it, right?" he asked, "Yes, but it will take me a while..." he answered.

"I'll stay a bit longer to sort it out, but you can go home, and I'll hand it to you tomorrow." he said, "You mean I have to leave it with you?!" he yelled shocked, "What's wrong with that? It's only for tonight. And like I said, I'll bring it with me tomorrow..." he said again.

"Alright fine..." Naoki said sadly, "But what am I to do for tonight?" he asked, "Homework?" he answered, making Naoki go quiet, "Fine! See ya tomorrow!" he said walking off, "By the way, this isn't free. I'll need 1000 yen for tomorrow!" AnDru said, shocking Naoki.

"You're charging me!?" he shouted, "It's your fault it's like this, the least you can do is pay for it!" he said, "Fine!" he said, and then left just as quickly. AnDru stayed a few more minutes, "Right he's gone." he said, as he closed the computer down and put the Duel Disk in his bag.

" _I'll finish it just before dinner, then I can head into VRAINS for a bit before bed._ " he thought to himself as he made his way outside, "See ya Daichi." he yelled behind, "Later!" Daichi yelled back from the back.

With this he took off, and about 20 minutes later, in which he took a bus to his neighbourhood, he was home, "I'm home!" he yelled walking in the doorway, causing a lot of footsteps to approach, rounding the corner first was his mother, Iim Plast, she was in her 40's, she stood at a surprising 6'7 ft. Her hair was black, long and spiky with blue tips and the ends, her eyes were grey, and she wore glasses, and she looked slightly tired. Her clothing was a simple red blouse and blue tight jeans as she was at home.

"Sweety! What took you so long getting home!?" she asked, as she smothered her son in a hug, his face planted in her chest area, "I tad do telp zomeone..." he said muffled, "I had to help someone..." was what he said.

"Well, as long as you're safe..." she said, as she kissed him on the forehead, the next person to round the corner was his older sister, Emy Plast, who was 20, she was 6'1 ft., her hair was black like her mothers, but it was smoothed out, her eye colour was a bit difficult to tell, as her eyes were somehow always shut, but she could she perfectly. She wore a tight black vest, that hugged her figure, and she wore denim jeans, and she was barefoot.

"Hi AnDru! Welcome home!" she said, taking her brother into a hug from their mother, "Hi Emy!" he said, she was smart to not hug his head into her chest.

And finally there was AnDra, now wearing a simple violet T-Shirt with a pink heart on it, and was wearing beige shorts, she came up behind AnDru, and hugged him from behind. "Guys… a bit crowded here..." he got out between the two.

"Sorry!" they said backing off, "Thanks..." he said, "I'll be upstairs, tell me when dinner is ready." he asked as he went up stairs. "Alright!" Emy said, as she was doing the cooking, their mother could, but… That's a story for another day.

Now in his room, he quickly connected Naoki's Duel Disk to his computer, and uploaded the software to help restore the Duel Disk. With this, he undressed and changed into the normal attire. Which was a set of black slack pants with a belt, he normally wore combat boots, but he was inside, so just his socks were on, he was wearing a grey double zipper hooded jacket, under this was a simple red turtle-neck.

After changing, he looked himself over in his mirror, "Hmm..." he hummed, glaring at his hair, "I need a haircut..." muttered to himself, sweeping his hair out of his eyes… which to be honest was not even in the way.

With changing over, he started to make his way downstairs, but stopped when he pasted his desktop, which housed not only he computer set-up, but also a picture of his family from when he was younger.

He slowly made his way over to the picture and picked it up, and smiled at it, in the picture was a young AnDru at 6, his twin sister, also 6, they were at the front, Emy was above them in the middle, she was 10 in this. On the left side was Iim, who was 30 at the time… And then there was his father… at this AnDru lost his smile.

He got his looks and hair colour from his father, he also had a slightly beard, which at the time he used to tickle his children.

During the time he was reminiscing, he could swear that he could hear the sound of a car swerving in his head, along with a crash… " _I miss you dad..._ " he thought sadden. "AnDru! Can you come help set the table?" Emy yelled from the kitchen, snapping AnDru out of his thoughts.

"Coming!" he yelled back, as he set the picture back down safely and made his way downstairs…

* * *

 **Den City Square Plaza, (19:34 PM)**

Within the Plaza, many people were deciding to head home, but some were out for a romantic night. Others were just looking for a spot to sit down… and two people were about to hack into someone's else's computer system.

"Thank you! See ya soon!" Shoichi said to a customer as they paided and took off with their meal, Yusaku was sitting outside, believe it or not, wearing regular clothes. Which was a simple black shirt, a grey-ish brown jacket hoodie and blue knee torn jeans. He went home first, and decided for once to change.

"Done?" he asked, "Yep!" Shoichi said closing up shop, with this Yusaku made his way in, and un-muted Ai, who had been on Yusaku's wrist in the Duel Disk. "Finally..." Ai sighed out, "And again… for the 56 time, you look surprisingly good in those clothes/" it added.

"Quiet." Yusaku said, booting up the computer, now that they were inside, "So what's the plan again?" he asked Shoichi, "As you know, Codebuster, during your Duel against Go Onisuka, took the back-door program, just giving him enough time to retrieve a part of our IP." Shoichi reminded.

"Meaning this is your fault Yusaku-sama!" Ai shouted, making a glare at Yusaku, who was unfazed. "But it has given us a chance to get the IP sample back, and also take his IP!" Shoichi added. He then brought up a map of the city, on the map, where a large area was glowing, as by Shoichi.

"Due to having the sample of the IP, I was able to scan the city, until I came across a match of the IP that Codebuster managed to take..." he explained, while Yusaku narrowed his eyes. "This seems like a trap. Codebuster would've definitely hidden the IP, not leave it in the open for us to find." Yusaku deduced.

"Exactly, he likely knew we would one day try and recover it, thus leaving it out, and when we do break in..." Shoichi said, "He'll end up stealing the rest of the IP from us! Quiet the clever dickens." Ai mused.

"But since we know this is a trap, we can likely work our way around it, and safely get our IP back, along with his IP." Yusaku said, "And if he realises that we have his IP, we could force him to leave us alone." Ai said, making Shoichi frown.

"That's sounds a bit evil… but yes, that would be the plan… if we get the IP though..." Shoichi said, "Right, I'm going to scan the area for the match." he said typing away. A few moments later, he had found it, thus making the glowing area slightly smaller.

"Right, so far so good..." he said, "When I begin the hack, we must act quickly." he said, "Right." Yusaku said, getting his fingers on the keyboard ready, "3..." Ai counted them down, "2..." it continued, "1!" it yelled, the second it finished, they typed away, making hacking software appear on the screen…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story (same time)**

Sitting in the living room, watching an american sit-com called "The Big Bang Theory" was Matoyia, Asuka and Aito, "Man Sheldon sure is annoying and funny at the same time..." Matoyia muttered, as he watched Sheldon bring out something called the room-mate agreement, just to keep control over Leonard, his room-mate.

"He sure is full off himself..." Asuka muttered, just when Matoyia was about reply, his Duel Disk beeped, making him look at it, "About time..." he said smirking as he got up and ran to his room, "What are you doing?" Asuka asked, as she and Aito watched him run off.

"To meet Playmaker in person hopefully!" he yelled back, shocking and also confusing the two, who looked at one another in said confusion.

With Matoyia, he quickly sat down by his computer system, "Right! Let's see if they have a camera!" he said cracking his fingers together, then started to type onto the keyboard, bring up the program he had finished just before dinner… "And I'm in… hopefully..." he said as with one final stroke of the keyboard, the program was executed.

With this, he quickly reached down, and put on a Halloween mask of some sort, it was a white hockey mask, with splotches of fake blood on it. "This will give them a scare!" he said, his voice muffled by the mask…

* * *

 **With Yusaku…**

"Almost-" Shoichi said, but suddenly the programs they were running froze, causing them to freeze in their tracts. "What happened?!" Ai asked, "We triggered the trap..." Yusaku concluded, suddenly their programs were small tabbed, and a new program was activated.

"Is… He opening… Skype!" Shoichi got out in shock, this made the two look at the camera, that was mounted above the keyboard as Skype continued to upload, "He's trying to see who we are in real life!" Ai yelled.

"Get down! Yusaku said, as he and Shoichi ducked under the desk, out of the camera's view… "Hey! You left me up-" Ai ranted, but stopped when video feed lit up, and on the other side of the feed, sitting in a dark room, barely illuminated by their computer's light was a being wearing a bloody hockey mask.

"AHHHHHHHHH! IT'S JASON VOORHEES!" it screamed, having watched about 200 movies during his stay in the Duel Disk, the friday the thirteenth series, which generally scared the digital crap out of him.

"Ah! The AI, lovely to see you again..." the masked being that they guess was Codebuster under the mask said, his voice muffled due to said mask, "Err.. Hi Codebuster." Ai said weakly, afraid, "Hello..." he said back, moving the camera about, "Now where is Playmaker and his ally?" he asked making the camera take as much video feed as possible.

"Oh you know, they went out for a bit, and left me in charge..." it said, "We need to disconnect the server..." Yusaku whispered to Shoichi, who nodded and slowly reached above, and tried to turn off the computer, but he flailed about slightly. "Who's down there!?" Codebuster asked, making the camera look down and zoom in on Shoichi's hand, forcing him to quickly bring it back down.

"Hmm… well while you hide under there, I think I'll help myself to the rest of your IP Adress!" he said, as he quickly brought up another program on his screen. "Quick! Do something you two!" Ai yelled, suddenly a hooded figure, rushed out from under the counter, with the camera watching this.

"Huh!?" Codebuster said confused, and during this, the hooded figure, which was Yusaku, grabbed the power flip switch, and turned if off, thus making the truck shut down, and thus breaking the connection between them and Codebuster…

" ***** **Phew** ***...** " Shoichi sighed out, as Yusaku turned the power back on, "That was close..." he said getting up from under the counter as well, "Looks like even with all the precautions we took, he was still ready for us..." Yusaku said.

But then he noticed that Ai seemed to be smiling through his single eye, "What are you happy about?" he asked suspicious, "Oh not much..." it said slyly, "If you don't tell us, I'll go through your data and mess it up!" he threatened.

"Oh fine!" Ai said annoyed, "While you two were hiding and Codebuster was trying to get the rest of our IP, I managed to copy a bit of his IP!" it gloated. "Really? Did you manage to recover our IP too?" Shoichi asked.

"No! Whatever program he made, the IP vanished as soon as I got near it. It must've deleted it to avoid us getting it..." it added, "So he must have a saved copy of the IP on him..." Yusaku deduced, it made sense, why would Codebuster delete something so important on purpose if he didn't have a copy.

"Well, at least we got something out of this. Ai, could you upload the IP sample you got into the computer?" Shoichi asked the AI, "Yep! One sec..." it said, a few seconds later, a new file appeared, within it the IP sample Ai managed to retrieve.

"There we go." it said, "Right… That's about all we should do for now. Want me to drop you home?" Shoichi asked Yusaku, "Sure." he said, with this, both he and Yusaku, along with Ai, being carried in Yusaku's hand were now sitting at front, where Shoichi started to drive off.

A few moments of silence took over, when Shoichi decided to break the silence, "So how was school today?" he asked, "Same as usual..." Yusaku said looking out the window, "Don't lie!" Ai yelled.

"What's he talking about?" Shoichi asked, as Yusaku not looking at him softly blushed, he himself had no idea though, "Yusaku made a friend!" Ai gleefully said, "Really! That's great! Who was it?" Shoichi asked.

"A freshman going by the name of Aito Haru." Yusaku finally answered, "Haru?… That name sounds familiar..." he said, as they drove by… Café Haru…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Third Story (m** **oments later** **)**

"Damn..." Matoyia muttered as he stared at his screen, which had black and white fuzz on the video feed screen that he used, meaning they had turned off their power. " _The program was barely able to do it's job, I'm just lucky I got here as soon as I could..._ " he thought.

With this, he went through his systems, to see if they managed to do something, "What!? They managed to get a part of my IP! How? They were under their counter most of the time." he muttered to himself in shock.

But he quickly realised how and where he made a mistake, "The Ignis was there, it must have still be searching for their IP while they hid..." he deduced, as he did see the AI in Playmaker's Duel Disk, it looked scared, which made him smirk as he recalled who terrified it looked when it saw him.

"Well, I can't do much else, so now we're on even ground with each other..." he said looking back at the screen, he then closed down the programs he had running, " _And hopefully we should be even in a Duel, once we finally do clash..._ " he thought.

With this, he made his way back downstairs, and hoped the next episode hadn't started, "Matoyia, you messed five minutes of the next episode!" Asuka yelled from downstairs, shocking him, "Wait! How long was I up here!?" he asked, as he ran down…

* * *

 **AnDru's home, (11:34 PM)**

Within the household of the Plast residence, most of the family was asleep… all except for AnDru, who was passing the time watching Youtube videos. "Right that should do..." he whispered to himself, turning his phone off.

He then got out of his bed, and made his way into his draw, which he took out his Duel Disk, during the past few days, in which he had tampered with the new version from SOL Technologies, but he had taken both this and his old one, took it to the Repair store, and mashed the two together.

This one could store not only actual cards in the Deck Slot that he took from the old Disk, but also the data for them, and also had the small panel screen on the side, for the blade for the cards. He of course had to spent some money on a new casing for it, but it was worth it… to him, his family were a bit confused as to why he did this… Anyway, the entire thing was roughly the same size as his old old Duel Disk, the colouring was light green and the blade would be yellow.

"Deck Set!" he whispered, placing his Deck into the Deck Slot, "Into the VRAINS!" he whispered, a bit louder this time, with this, he was enveloped by the data sphere…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (11:59 PM)**

"Are you done?" a data thief asked their comrade, as he was on lookout, making sure nothing spotted them, like last time with Codebuster, as they were the same thieves from back then. "I hope Codebuster doesn't show again?" the second hacked said.

"Don't jinx us!" The Guard of the group hissed, but slapped his hand over his mouth, then frantically looking both ways, just in case someone heard them. " ***Phew...*** " the guard sighed relieved, "Right, since we know about Codebuster's program, I should be able to delay it from going off..." the main hacker said.

"Leave it for 5 minutes, that should give us enough time to get as many bank details as we need." the second hacker said, "Right. And… begin!" the first said, with this, the two started to gather as many Banking Details as they could, without setting of Codebuster's program, with a timer for it counting down.

5 minutes later, the counter reached 0, during that time, they had managed to steal over 50 account details. "Right, let's get out of-" the Guard said, but stopped when he saw a long shadow, that was above them.

"Not so fast..." a male voice yelled, this made the three look up at a rooftop, where a figure stood, the moonlight behind them. Standing there was man in a black skintight suit, with red lines on either side of his body, connected from the feet to his hands, they weren't really seen around the chest, as he wore a high slimming zip-up hoodie. On his left wrist was weird looking light green Duel Disk, that looked like a fusion of the old and new Duel Disk from SOL Technologies. And for a face he wore a black screen mask, which had a red cross on it.

"Who are you?" the guard asked as the being jumped down, "They call me… NoPlayer." the being now called NoPlayer said, "NoPlayer? Isn't there a rumor about the creep?" the second hacker asked the first, "Yeah. He said to be called the 'Mysterious Duelist' but I'm pretty sure Playmaker is more mysterious then this guy." the first said.

"Glad some of you are just smart enough to know the rumours about me..." NoPlayer said calm, but AnDru, who was NoPlayer, was silently annoyed that people would dis the rumours about him. Sure Playmaker is more mysterious, but so was he.

"Nevermind the rumours! We need to get out of here!" the Guard yelled back, then faced NoPlayer, "Out of the way!" he growled out, "Not until we've Duelled!" NoPlayer said, "That's it? You want to Duel?" the Guard asked confused.

"Not just any Duel, an Ante Duel!" NoPlayer said, "Where we both wager 1 or more of our cards, and the winner will get them as the prize." he explained, "Really, that's all? This should be easy!" the Guard said smirking.

"In fact, I think I'll wager my trump card, Primal Rage Rex!" he said, "Oh, Primal Rage Rex. That's quite the expensive card for a Dinosaur-Type collector..." NoPlayer hesitantly said, "Are you sure about this, once we start with these agreements, there's no going back." he asked, hoping to change the guys mind, after all he only went after non-essential cards.

"Yeah, sure, whatever! Let's get this over with so that I can get away, with not only this money, but also bragging to my other friends that I took down the Mysterious Duelist, if that's what they even call you!" The Guard spat out grinning.

"Fine. Have it your way, I wager Machina Payload." NoPlayer said, as both he and the Guard raised their Duel Disk, the blades activating.

"DUEL!" the two shouted drawing five cards each…

NoPlayer's LP: **4000**

Guard's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I shall go first!" NoPlayer said, "I Normal Summon Machina Soldier!" he said placing the card onto the blade in the Middle Main Zone part, causing a dark green robot with a knife for a right hand to appear in that Main Monster Zone.

 **Machina Soldier: EARTH, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1500

"Soldier's effect! When Normal Summoned, and I control no other monsters, I can Special Summon 1 Machina monster from my Hand other than a Soldier!" he said, "I Summon Machina Pilot!" he said, placing the card onto the Right Main Monster Zone part. Appearing in that Zone on the Field, was a robot similar to Soldier, but it had small fins acting as wings on it's arms and legs, as well as an aeroplane's tail at it hip area.

 **Machina Pilot: WIND, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 1500

"When Pilot is Special Summoned, I can add 1 Machina Quick-Play Spell from my Deck to my Hand!" he said, "I'll add Machine Upgrade!" he said as the card ejected itself from his Deck which he took. "Then I activate the Spell, Machina Draw!" he said.

"I send 1 Machina monster from my Hand or Field to the Graveyard, choosing Pilot on my Field..." he said, as Pilot sunk down into a dark portal.

"With this, I draw card depending on where the sent card was before, it was on the field, so I draw 3!" he said drawing that many. "Impossible! He has more cards then what he started out with!" the first hacker shouted in shock.

"That's not all! As you then take 300 damage for every card I drew with Machina Draw! So that's 900 damage!" NoPlayer said, as the Guard glowed yellow as he flinched, Guard's LP: **4000 – 900 = 3100**.

"Pilot's effect! When sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can draw 1 card!" he said drawing 1 more card. "Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Machina Upgrade!" he said, activating the card he first added to his Hand.

"With this card, I send a Machine-Type monster I control to the Graveyard..." he said as a dark portal appeared under Soldier, who fell into it, "This let's me Special Summon 1 Machine-Type monster from my Deck that is a Level higher than the sent monster!" he said, as a card ejected itself from his Deck, which he placed on his blade in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"I Summon Machina Captain!" he said, and appearing was a slightly bulkier monster than Soldier, on both arms at the wrist were folded up blades.

 **Machina Captain: EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 1000

"Captain's effect! When Normal or Special Summoned and I control no other monsters, I can Special Summon 2 Machina monsters from my Hand or Graveyard, but they are destroyed at the end of the turn, if they are still on the Field then!" he explained.

"I Summoned back Soldier and Pilot from the Graveyard!" he said as appearing from a dark portal was both Soldier and Pilot, Soldier in the Left Main Monster Zone, and Pilot the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Arrowheads Confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two Machine-Type monsters!" he said, "I now set Soldier and Pilot in the Link Markers!" he said as the two Machina monster turned into twisters, Solder hit the Bottom Right and Pilot the Bottom Left, turning the red.

"Circuit Combine!" he said as a glow from the Portal appeared. " _Machines of battle… Those who fought for what is right! Reveal yourself, and show your Might!_ " he yelled as the Link Portal glowed more. "Link Summon! Show yourself! Link 2! Machina Scout!" he yelled, taking the Link Monster card from his Extra Deck, and placed into the Extra Monster Zone to the right, that appeared on the blade.

Appearing was a new Machina monster, that stood slightly taller than Captain, but it was more agile and thinner, it also appeared to be more technologically advanced than the three before it. On one shoulder was a small rotating aerial dish, and one of the arms was a hi-tech assault rifle. For the head, it was smooth and aerodynamic, and it also had a single camera lens for an eye. It's colour scheme was military camo.

 **Machina Scout: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Machina monsters that Scout points to gain 600 ATK!" he said, since Scout pointed to Captain, it was affected by this. Captain's ATK: **2000 + 600 = 2600**.

"Now I activate the effect of Machina Synchron from my Hand!" he said holding the card up, "Once per turn, I can target a Machina monster I control, half its ATK to Special Summon Synchron from my Hand or Graveyard!" he said.

"I target Captain!" he said, **26** **00 = 1** **3** **00** (Captain) "Now appear Machina Synchron!" he said, placing the card onto the Right Main Monster Zone. Now appearing on the field was a small robot, for legs it had tread tracks like that of a tanks, this was connected by a swivel joint, the upper body was like Soldier's body.

 **Machina Synchron: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 0

"When Synchron is Special Summoned this way, it's Level becomes the same as the target to Special Summon it! Captain's Level is 5, so it also become 5!" he said, Synchron's Level: **1 = 5**.

He then waved a hand, releasing a bit of power, Synchron and Captain then turned into fragments of data. "Level 5 Synchro tunes Level 5 Captain!" he declares as two sets of rings assembled from the data, each ring contained 5 rings, just layered.

"Tuning!? You can Synchro Summon!?" the Guard yelled. The rings then merged and then spread out into ten blue rings. a green dotted one going over them.

 **5* + 5* = 10***

" _The power of Machines…. Gather more power and make my wishes come true!_ " NoPlayer yelled as beam appeared from one side of the rings. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself! Level 10! Machina Hunter!" he yelled as rendering in was a giant robot. It's armour was grey and chrome, it had traits like that of a hunter, it's head was shaped like a tigers head, on its wrist were folded up razor claws, on one of its shoulder pads appeared to be a plasma cannon. it's forearms and knees to feet were bulkier. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone that Scout pointed to.

 **Machina Hunter: EARTH, Level: 10 [Machine/Synchro/Effect] ATK/3400 = 4000 DEF/** 2300

"Holy crap! That thing is huge!" the second hacker yelled in shocked, "It's only the first turn, and he's already got a high Level monster out on the Field..." the Guard muttered annoyed. "Synchron's effect! When used as Synchro Material, I can add 1 Machina card from my Deck to my Hand!" he said.

"Then Hunter's effect! When Synchro Summoned, you take 300 damage for every Machina monster on the Field!" NoPlayer said shocking them, "I control 2, so you take 600 damage!" he said, **3100 – 600 = 2500**.

"Now I activate the Field Spell, Machina Battle Grounds!" he said placing the card into the Duel Disk. "Now all Machina monsters… with Levels gain 100 ATK x their Levels!" he said, Hunter's ATK: **4000 +** **1** **00×10 =** **5** **000** (Hunter) "5-5000 ATK!" the two hackers yelled in shocked, but the Guard remained calm.

"Since it's the first turn, I place 3 cards face-down..." he said as three cards appeared then faded, "And then end my turn!" he said, as the cross on his face changed into sideways smiley face, that people use in text.

NoPlayer's Hand x 3

 **Turn 2**

"Right, my turn! I draw!" he said drawing his card, he saw it and smirked, "First I Normal Summon Rescue Rabbit!" he said as the small rabbit appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Rescue Rabbit: EARTH, Level: 4 [Beast/Effect] ATK/300 DEF/** 100

"Battle Grounds's effect! Your monsters loses 100 ATK x their Levels!" NoPlayer said, Rabbit's ATK: **300 – 400 = 0**.

"I activate Rabbit's effect! By banishing it..." the Guard said as the rabbit dug up a dark portal, in which it hopped into, his Duel Disk telling him it was banished, "This let's me Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters from my Deck!" he said. "I Summons 2 Kabazauls!" he said.

Appearing in the Middle and Right Main Monster Zones where two red flabby skinned dinosaurs that looked like hippopotamuses.

 **Kabazauls: WATER, Level: 4 [Dinosaur/Normal] ATK/1700 - 100x4 = 1300 DEF/** 1500 **(x2)**

"Appear! The Circuit leading to the primal past!" he said as the Link Portal appeared, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are 2 Dinosaur-Type monsters!" he said, "I now set the two Kabazauls in the Link Markers!" the guard said the two monster turned into two twisters, one hit the Bottom Left, the other the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Spinosawsaur!" he yelled as appearing was a Spinosaurus, but the spine that gave it its name was in fact a Buzzsaw, that was actually rotating. At the end of its tail was the blade of a chainsaw, also rotating at high speeds. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to the Guard's right, opposite of Scout.

 **Spinosawsaur: EARTH [Dinosaur/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Since it's a Link Monster, it's unaffected by Battle Grounds's effect!" the Guard smirked, making a frowny face appear on NoPlayer's mask.

"Your not the only one who can do that!" he said pointing at Hunter. Now I activate the Spell, Deck Summon!" he said, "With this card, I can Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon using monsters in my Deck!" he said.

" _Strange,_ _from_ _the data I got from this guy, he was supposed to use only use Link Summoning..._ " AnDru thought inside of NoPlayer, who had a question mark on his face now. While the three hacked the bank, NoPlayer had scanned them and figured out what they used, the Guard was only meant to use Link Monsters, as did most people these days…

" _He must have bugged his Cloud, to ensure that people didn't know his Deck's full potent_ _i_ _al..._ " he thought.

"Level 3 Jurrac Monoloph tunes Level 4 Jurrac Guaiba!" he said, as the monsters in question appeared on the Field, then turned into data and reconfigured themselves like before.

 **3* + 4* = 7***

"Synchro Summon! Level 7! Jurrac Giganoto!" he yelled, as a new red and blue dinosaur appeared, its head a lit with fire. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, linked to Spinosawsaur.

 **Jurrac Giganoto: FIRE, Level: 7 [Dinosaur/Synchro/Effect] ATK/2100 - 100x7 = 1400 DEF/** 1800

"You also can Synchro Summon!?" NoPlayer asked in slight surprise, "Actually, I only started using it after my defeat against Codebuster..." the Guard explained, " _Codebuster was what made him use Synchro Summoning._ " AnDru thought.

He knew before that Codebuster used Link, Fusion and Xyz Summoning in his Cyber Dragon Deck, but now he had started using a new Deck called Weirdware, he wasn't even sure if he used the Cyber Dragon deck still.

"And that's why when I Duel Codebuster again, it will be me the victor." Guard finished, apparently having talked the entire time, "… I'm sorry, what did you say!?" NoPlayer asked confused, "You weren't even listening!?" the Guard yelled.

"No. I had better things to think off." NoPlayer shrugged, "Spinosawsaurs's effect!" the Guard said, "Dinosaur-Type monster it points to gain 1000 ATK!" he said, **14** **00 = 2400**. (Giganoto)"And Giganoto's effect makes all Jurrac monsters gain 200 ATK for every Jurrac monster in the Graveyard!" he said, **24** **00 + 400 = 2800** (Giganoto)

"Now I activate the Spell, Back-Up Rider!" he added, "I target Giganoto, and it gains 1500 ATK until the end of the turn!" he said, **2800 + 1500 = 4300** (Giganoto) "Yes! Now he can deal major damage to this creep!" the second hacker yelled excited.

"Battle! Giganoto attacks your stupid Scout!" he yelled as Giganoto charged at Scout, "Wrong! I activate the Trap, Machina Counter Tactic!" NoPlayer said as his middle face-down flipped up.

"When your monster attacks a Machina monster, I can negate the attack, and make that monster gain 800 ATK, but at the cost of it's effects being negated until the end of the next turn!" he said as Giganoto stopped it's attack, it's head that was on fire, was suddenly put out. **4300** **\- 400** **\+ 800 = 47** **00** (Giganoto)

"Also a Minor Bot Token is Special Summoned!" NoPlayer said as his Duel Disk generated a Token card, which he placed on his blade, appearing in the Right Main Monster Zone was a small barely put together robot.

 **Minor Bot Token: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Token] ATK/0 DEF/** 0

"So you stopped one attack!? So what! I'll now have Spinosawsaur attack that Token!" the Guard said as the Link Monster charged at the new Token. "And now I activate my next Trap, Machina Call-Out!" he said as the face-down to his left flipped up.

"During your main phase or battle phase, I can tribute 1 Machine-Type monster..." he said as the Minor Bot Token burst into particles. "I can now Special Summon a Machina monster from my Hand or Deck!" he said.

"I Summon Machina Ranger from my Deck!" he said taking the card from his Deck and placed it on the Far Right Main Monster Zone, that Scout pointed to. Appearing was a new robot, on one arm was a cross bow, the other was a bow that was in fact the arm. On its back was a quiver of metal arrows.

 **Machina Ranger: EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1900 = 2500 + 100x 5 = 3000 DEF/** 1000

"Now Ranger's effect!" he said, "When Ranger is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summoned from my Deck 1 Level 4 or lower Machina monster in Defense!" he said, "I summoned Machina Hound!" he said as the card ejected itself from his Deck, which he took and placed on the Far Left Main Monster Zone.

This caused a mechanical hound to appear, it's armour was brown and slightly bronzed and rusted, and on its back appeared to be a missile load/carrier, it was Summoned in Defense.

 **Machina Hound: EARTH, Level: 3 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/** 1400 + 100x3 = 1700 **DEF/800**

"When Hound is Special Summoned while I control a Machina Ranger, I draw 2 cards!" he said drawing that many.

While the Guard was impressed that he Summoned 2 monsters during his turn, he notice that NoPlayer made a mistake. "You do realise you haven't stop Spinosawsaur from attacking, you've just gotten rid of his original target!" the Guard said what he was thinking.

His words actually shocked NoPlayer, who didn't realise his little mistake, "Now Spinosawsaur will attack that mutt of your Hound!" the Guard said, with this Spinosawsaur now charged at the Hound.

"Ranger's effect! I can inflict 600 damage to you!" NoPlayer rushed to say, Ranger then loaded an arrow from its quiver into the arrow and fired it at the Guard, who recoiled inwards as the arrow hit him in the stomach. **2500 – 600 = 1900** (Guard)

"That's fine, a little damage is fine..." the Guard said to himself, as Spinosaurus got closer, opening it's jaws, "By the way, Spinesawsaur can inflict piercing battle damage!" he said shocking NoPlayer. With this the dinosaur crunched the robotic hound in half, causing an explosion. NoPlayer's LP: **4000 – 1200 = 2800**.

" _No way… I actually took damage..._ " NoPlayer thought in shock, his mask had a exclamation mark on it now. Not in a long while had he taken damage, and he honestly didn't think he'd take damage from this guy. Against Codebuster or Playmaker, sure, but not really anyone else.

"Hound's effect!" NoPlayer yelled out, "Since it was destroyed, you take another 600 damage!" he said as Hound's soul appeared from the Graveyard, and shot a missile at the Guard. **1900 – 600 = 1300** (Guard)

"Wow, that sounded like that damage to you did something..." the Guard said smirking, "I now place two cards face-down and end my turn!" he said as two cards appeared then faded. "With it ending, Back-Up Rider's effect ends!" he added. **4700 = 3200** (Giganoto)

Guard's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I draw!" NoPlayer yelled drawing his card. "Battle! Hunter will take out Spinosawsaur!" he yelled as Hunter's folded claws unfolded, with this the giant monster charged at the Dinosaur Link Monster.

"Ha! I Activate the Trap, Negate Attack!" the Guard said, as his face-down flipped up, "Hunter's effect!" NoPlayer yelled in slight panic, "When you activate a Spell, Trap or Monster's effect, I can send 1 card in my Hand that is the same type as the activated card..." he said sending a Trap to the Graveyard.

"With this, the activated card is negated!" he said shocking the three, as Hunter brought down its claws, cleaving the monster into pieces, causing the monster to explode. **1300 – 3000 = 0** (Guard)

" ***Sigh*** Looks like I was right, you weren't worth it..." NoPlayer said calmly, the cross returning to his face, as he made his way over to the downed Guard.

NoPlayer: **WIN**

Guard: **LOSE**

"Man that hurt..." the Guard said getting up, suddenly he was hit by a beam that came from NoPlayer's Duel Disk. "Thank you for playing… But I'll be taking the prize now." he said calmly. The beam then retracted and in his hand was a ball of data, which had Primal Rage Rex's data.

"Also..." he added, as he shot two beams at the two hackers, shocking them, "I'll be putting that stolen data back!" he said as the beams retracted again, this time in his other hand was a green ball of data, which was for the bank account details.

"Why you..." the Guard growled out, as he stood up, his comrades and him closed in on NoPlayer, who was about to log out, when the three looked shocked about something, suddenly they logged out.

"Hmph! They must've realised who they were dealing with!" NoPlayer said, smirking, he then turned to leave, but hit something or someone, "Hey watch it-" he shouted, but stopped when he looked at what he hit… which happened to be Codebuster, glaring down at him slightly, as he stood taller than him.

"Codebuster!?" he yelled, he quickly looked in his left, were the ball of green data was, and quickly hid it behind him. "I didn't steal it!" he shouted, "I know… Those three idiotic cyber thieves stole it..." Codebuster said slowly.

"Oh… Well here!" he said handing him the data, which he took, and then walked over to the wall that the thieves took it from, "Don't even think about it!" he warned, as NoPlayer tried to walk off, casually, like he didn't do anything, this caused him to freeze in his tracks. " _Crap..._ " NoPlayer swore in his head.

"Now…" Codebuster said turning to face him, "Thanks for recovering the data." he said grinning, making him relieved, thankful he wasn't in trouble. "That's fine, but may I ask, why are you here?" NoPlayer asked.

"I had placed a program in a lot of the Data Banks in VRAINS, hoping the thieves would steal from the bank, the program would alert me to this, and I'd come to stop them..." he explained, "This was during a contract a while back, but I kept them just in case." he added, "The hackers of the group must've delayed it, but luckily you stopped them while I got here..." he added.

"By the way, your Dueling was great!" he complimented, "Thanks!" NoPlayer said, "Now if that's all, I-" he said turning to leave, but stopped by Codebuster once again, who grabbed him by the shoulder, "But… You do realise that stealing Data even from thieves is a criminal offense, right?" he asked keeping his grip on his shoulder, making NoPlayer freeze up.

"No..." he lies, acting all innocent "Well it is, so now I have to take you into SOL Technologies!" he explained, shocking him, this made NoPlayer shrug him off, and turned to face Codebuster, who remained calm.

"Like I'd be taken in without a fight..." NoPlayer said arming his Duel Disk, he was prepared to Duel him, he believed he may be able to take him… But the damage he took against the Guard had actually scared him, and that guy lost to Codebuster with his Cyber Dragon Deck, who knew what his Weirdware Deck was capable of.

"Fine… I guess I'll have to do this by force!" Codebuster said, arming his Duel Disk, again, still calm…

…

…

For a while the two said nothing, just staring at one another, both waiting for the other to say something, NoPlayer was the first to react, his face turning into an exclamation mark. "It's Hanoi!" he yelled out, pointing behind Codebuster, who quickly turned, but saw nothing.

"What are you talking about-" Codebuster said, turning back, but NoPlayer had vanished… "That little bastard!" he swore to himself, " _Still he did save the data, so I'll let this slide for once..._ " he thought, with this he logged out…

* * *

 **AnDru's Home...**

After the sphere vanished, AnDru woke up and made his way over to his computer set up, plugged in his Duel Disk, and transferred the Data for the card he gained, "There that will do for now, I'll print it out tomorrow evening and make an auction for it..." he said as the transfer was complete. With this, he got under his covers to get some sleep.

But something was bugging him, " _That Guard did damage to me..._ " he thought, replaying that moment, " _If Codebuster could beat him with his Cyber Dragon Deck, then his Weirdware Deck must be dangerous..._ " he added, " _I need to make sure that I can fight him or Playmaker evenly..._ " he finished, not before looking over to his bottom desk draw. "And I think I have the cards to that..." he muttered as he finally closed his eyes.

End of Chapter 6

* * *

 **Java Sky and VictoryCrafter are from ghost83. While NoPlayer and AnDru, along with his family and Ayano Matsumoto and her brother Daichi are from I0-Hopeful Heart Dragon… He wanted them to be close, but I don't mind...**

 **OC cards**

 **(Fuyro)**

 **Equaliser**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

When your opponent Special Summons a monster, target 1 monster in your Hand or Graveyard with same Level as the Summoned monster: Special Summon it. You can only activate 1 "Equaliser" once per turn.

 **Reset Summon**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

When a Normal Summoned monster leaves the Field by card effect the turn it's Summoned: Special Summon back that monster, then you can Normal Summon once again.

 **OC cards**

 **(VictoryCrafter) (** ghost83 **)**

 **Block Mob - Slime**

 **WATER, Level: 4 [Aqua/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/1000**

You take no battle damage involving this card. When this card is destroyed by battle: Special Summon 2 "Block Mob - Slime Tokens" (Level: 4/Aqua-Type/WATER) with half the ATK and DEF of this card. If a "Block Mob - Slime Token" is destroyed while this card is in the GY: Banish this card, you take no damage involving that monster, then you can add 1 "Block" card from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Block Mob - Guardian**

 **WATER, Level: 8 [Fish/Effect] ATK/3000 DEF/0**

You can tribute 2 face-up "Block" cards you control: Special Summon this card (from your Hand), and you if do; destroy 1 monster your opponent whose DEF is lower than this card's ATK. Once per turn, send 1 card from your Hand to the GY, target 1 monster your opponent controls; it loses 400 ATK for every "Block Mob" monster you control until the end of the turn. During the end of your turn: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

 **Block Mob - Spider**

 **EARTH, Level: 6 [Insect/Effect] ATK/2200 DEF/1600**

If you control a face-up "Block Mob" monster: You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) This card can attack your opponent directly, but if it does, battle damage to your opponent is halved. Once per turn, when another "Block Mob" monster is destroyed by battle: Target the monster that destroyed that monster; it can no longer declare an attack until this card leaves the Field.

 **Block Biome – Snowy**

 **Field Spell**

When this card is activated: Add 1 Level 5 or higher "Block Mob" monster from your Deck to your Hand. WATER monsters on the Field cannot declare an attack, change their battle position, and have their effects negated as long as this card is face-up on the Field. During either player's turn, you can shuffle this card into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Block Biome - Lush**

 **Field Spell**

During your opponent's turn: Special Summon 1 "Block Mob" monster from your Hand, but negate its effects. During your Main Phase: Add 1 Continious Spell from your Deck to your Hand. During either player's turn, you can shuffle this card into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Block Biome - Ocean**

 **Field Spell**

This card is always treated as "Umi"

When this card is activated: Add 1 WATER monster from your Deck to your Hand. Once per turn, you can activate one of 2 effects: 1) Special Summon 1 WATER monster from your Hand. 2) Should a "Block Mob" monsters you control be destroyed by a card effect: (Quick Effect) Tribute 1 WATER monster you control, and if you do, all "Block Mob" monsters cannot be destroyed by that effect. During either player's turn, you can shuffle this card into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Block Lava Ravine**

 **Counter Trap**

When you opponent Normal or Special Summon non-FIRE monster(s): Destroy 1 of them, and if you do, set this card back face-down, but you cannot activate it again for the rest of the turn.

 **Block TNT**

 **Normal Trap**

Inflict 200 damage to your opponent for every card on the field (including this card). If this set card is destroyed: Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, also destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

 **Block Mob - Elder Guardian**

 **WATER [Fish/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs** ⬇↘

2 "Block Mob" monsters

Must first be Link Summoned. If this card is Link Summoned using a "Block Mob Guardian" as Link Material: This card's original ATK becomes 3000. Once per turn, when this card points to no monsters in the Main Monster Zone: Target 1 "Block Mob" monster in your Graveyard with ATK equal or less than this card's original ATK, Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone this card points to. During the End Phase of your turn: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent for every monster this card points to.

 **(Guard)**

 **Spinosawsaur**

 **EARTH [Dinosaur/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

2 Dinosaur-Type monsters

Dinosaur-Type monsters this card points to gain 1000 ATK. Once per turn, should this card be destroyed by battle, tribute 1 Dinosaur-Type monster this card points to instead. When a Dinosaur-Type monster this card points to leaves the Field: Inflict 200 damage to your opponent x the Level of the tributed monster. When this card battles a Defense position monster: Inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent.

 **(NoPlayer) (I0-Hopeful Heart Dragon's ideas, but they've been tweeked a bit as they were OP before.)**

 **Machina Pilot**

 **WIND, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/1500**

When this card is Special Summoned: Add 1 "Machina" Quick-Play Spell from your Deck to your Hand. When a "Machina" Spell or Trap is activated: Place 1 "Mech Counter" on this card (max 3). When this card has 3 "Mech Counters" on it: remover that many, and if you do, draw 1 card. When this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: Draw 1 card. You can only activate each effect once per turn.

 **Machina Captain**

 **EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/1000**

This card is treated as a "Machina Soldier" while on the Field or in the Graveyard. If this card is Special Summoned by the effect of "Machina Upgrade": You can Special Summon 1 "Machina" monster from your Hand. Once per turn, if you control no other monsters, and this card is Normal or Special Summoned: target 2 "Machina" monsters from your Hand or Graveyard, but destroy them if they are still on the Field at the end of the turn.

 **Machina Synchron**

 **EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/0**

Target 1 "Machina" monster you control, half it's ATK, and if you do: Special Summon this card from your Hand or Graveyard, and if you do, this card's Level become the same the targeted monster's Level until the end of the turn. You can only use this effect once per turn. If this card is used as Synchro Material: Add 1 "Machina" card from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Machina Ranger**

 **EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/1000**

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Machina" monster from your Hand or Deck in DEF position. Once per turn, should this card be destroyed by battle: Shuffle 2 "Machina" card in your Graveyard into your Deck instead. Once per turn, (Quick Effect) inflict 600 damage to your opponent.

 **Machina Hound**

 **EARTH, Level: 3 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/800**

If this card is Special Summoned while you control a "Machina Ranger": Draw 2 cards. Should another "Machina" monster be destroyed by battle or card effect: Tribute this card, that monster is not destroyed by that battle or effect. If this card is destroyed: Inflict 600 damage to your opponent.

 **Machina Upgrade**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

Target 1 Machine-Type monster you control: Send it to the Graveyard, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Machine-Type monster from your Deck that has a Level higher than the sent monster. (The sent monster is treated as being destroyed by battle) If this card is in your Graveyard: You can target up to 2 "Machina" monsters in your Graveyard, shuffle them along with this card into your Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of "Machina Upgrade" once per turn.

 **Machina Draw**

 **Normal Spell**

Send to the Graveyard 1 "Machina" monster from your Hand or Field, and if you do, draw cards based of where the card was when you sent it: From the Hand: Draw 2 cards. From the Field: Draw 3 cards. For every card you draw with this card's effect: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent x the number of cards you drew. You can only activate 1 "Machina Draw" per turn.

 **Machina Battle Grounds**

 **Field Spell**

All "Machina" monsters you control gain 100 ATK x their Level, while your opponent's monsters lose 100 ATK x their Levels. You can only activate 1 of the following effect once per turn:

1) When a Machine-Type monster you control destroys a monster by battle: Draw 1 card, then make your opponent discard 1 card from their Hand.

2) At the end of the damage step and a Machine-Type monster you control battled a monster, but didn't destroy it: Return that monster to your opponent's Deck or Extra Deck (if Special Summoned from the Extra Deck)

 **Machina Counter Tactic**

 **Normal Trap**

When your opponent's monster declares an attack against a "Machina" monster you control: You can negate the attack, then that monster gains 800 ATK, but it's effects are negated until the end of the next turn, then Special Summon a "Minor Bot Token" (Level 1, Machine-Type, EARTH, ATK 0, DEF 0). When a "Minor Bot Token" is Special Summon by this card's effect: Add 1 "Machina" monster from your Deck to your Hand that has less ATK then a monster your opponent controls.

 **Machina Call-Out**

 **Continious Trap**

Activate this face-down if a Machine-Type monster you control is attacked. Once per turn, during your opponent's main phase or battle phase: Tribute 1 Machine-Type monster you control, tribute it, then Special Summon 1 "Machina" monster from your Hand or Deck.

 **Machina Scout**

 **EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

2 Machine-Type monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by card effects as long as it points to a "Machina" monster. "Machina" monsters this card points to gain 600 ATK, and they cannot be destroyed by card effect. You can lower this card's ATK by 1000, and if you do, this card can attack your opponent directly. If this card's current ATK is different than it's original ATK: Draw 1 card for every 500 ATK that this card lost or gained, then make this card's ATK return to its original ATK, but all battle damage to your opponent is halved the turn you use this effect. You can only activate each effect of "Machina Scout" once per turn.

 **Machina Hunter**

 **EARTH, Level: 10 [Machine/Synchro/Effect] ATK/3400 DEF/2300**

1 Machine-Type Tuner + 1+ non Tuner "Machina" monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent for every "Machina" monster on the Field. This card can attack all your opponent's monsters once each. If this card attacks a Defense position monster; inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. Each time a card is banished from the Graveyard, while there is 2 or more "Machina" monsters in your Graveyard: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent for card that was banished. Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent activates a Spell/Trap or a monster's effect: Send 1 card in your Hand that's the same type of card as the activated card, negate the activation of that effect.


	7. Chapter 7: The Angel seeking attention

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts_ "

* * *

 **Café Haru, the next day (17:34 PM)**

" _Everyone! Here I go!_ " Blue Angel cheered happily to her fans on the outside watching. Within the Café most people were watching the Duel that was being broadcasted, it of course starred the Idol of Link VRAINS, Blue Angel, and her opponent was just a random person.

" _Get ready! This is the finale!_ " she said winking to the audience, as Matoyia manning counter, while Hiroshi, Sora and Yui, who still had her cast on, and two crutches by her chair were watching the Duel, "Finish him Blue Angel!" Hiroshi cheered, a lot more than usual, being the quiet one of the group.

"Wow! I didn't know you were such a big fan of hers..." Sora said, mildly surprised, "Either that, or he just likes here because she reminds him of an Anime girl!" Yui joked, making Hiroshi go quiet and blush, "S-Shut up..." he muttered.

" _Trickstar Holly Angel will attack you directly!_ " Blue Angel shouted, as her ace monster, created a whip, which had a red ball, like that of a wrecking ball, and whipped it out at her opponent. This took the rest of her opponent's LP, which was at 300 before the attack.

"And that's that..." Matoyia said, " _That's the end_!" Blue Angel said winking to the audience once again. " _Now you all behave until my next live show! See ya! Bye bye!_ " she said, and with that she sailed off on her D-Board, as they were having a Speed Duel.

"Wow she's amazing..." Hiroshi said, "Yeah, but I think Go Onisuka could take her, he still is No. 1 as a Charisma Duelist..." Sora muttered, crossing his arms, "You do know, that only means popularity right?" Matoyia said slyly, "Then if that's true, shouldn't Playmaker or Codebuster be No. 1? They are quiet popular these days." Yui said, as she looked up something on her tablet.

"But you need to be registered as a Charisma Duelist for that, I mean sure Codebuster is a Charisma Duelist, ranked fourth..." Hiroshi said, "So why hasn't he moved up… You'd think he would since he beat Go..." Yui said, but then received a glare from Go's fan, Sora.

"True… but can't the Charisma Duelist choose to stay where they are..." Matoyia said, half lying, as being Codebuster's alter ego, he had received an email, that said, if he wanted to move up to 3rd position, he declined, as he rarely did Duel in public, unless it was a Hanoi knight, which he had taken down 3 more in secret.

"I also think that being a Bounty Hunter, that may set his popularity off track a bit..." he added, "Still though, since he has Duelled Go and won, you'd think Blue Angel would be next for him to go against?" Hiroshi said, just dreaming about the day his female idol and one of his male idols Duelling… then he decided to think of what their virtual children would look like…

"They'd name a boy Code Angel..." he muttered out loud, confusing the other three. "Okay..." Matoyia awkardly said, "But I think Codebuster would go after Playmaker, from the videos I've seen, it looks like he wants to Duel Playmaker!" he said.

"That would be amazing to watch!" Yui said excited, "It would, just think two amazing Duelist, giving us an amazing Duel with their Cyberse Decks!" Hiroshi said, picturing it. "Well, we won't know if that will happen..." Sora said, making Hiroshi feel down.

"Speaking Duels, did you hear about the Mysterious Duelist?" Matoyia asked, hoping to change the subject, "You mean NoPlayer? Doesn't he take cards from Duelist?" Yui asked, "And is said to finish his Duels like in the blink of an eye?" Sora added.

"That one?" Matoyia said, as this morning, he did quick search up on NoPlayer, to see if he could out anything else on him, from watching his Duel, he knew that he used a Machina Deck, which had Link Summoning and Synchro Summoning incorperated into it, but that was about it. So he asked his friends just now, to see if they anything else turned up, turns out they knew just as much as him.

"Well all I know..." Sora said, peeking his interest, "Is that he must be a coward!" Sora finished, making Matoyia nearly slip over, but he managed to recover discretely. " _What was I expecting from Sora, he calls everyone but Go Onisuka a coward..._ " Matoyia thought. As he recalled Sora called Codebuster a coward when he first showed up as a Charisma Duelist… Matoyia didn't talk to him for a few days after that.

"Well, I suppose I should make my way home..." Yui said, picking up her crutches and standing up on them, "I'll see that she gets home..." Sora said, also standing up. "Bye guys..." Matoyia said, as the two walked… well, one slowly made their way out of the store.

"Do you think Codebuster will Duel Blue Angel?" Hiroshi asked Matoyia, "Maybe..." he said, as he too pictured the Duel between him as Codebuster and Blue Angel… then for some reason, he pictured their kids.

" _Whoa! Where did that come from?_ " he thought in shock, " _I know she's hot, but I thinks she like three years younger than me… I prefer woman, not girls..._ " he added… blushing... "What's with the blush?" Hiroshi asked, "Errr... Coming Asuka!" he yelled, quickly making his out back... where Asuka walked past him confused, "What's with him?" she asked confused, but Hiroshi just shrugged...

* * *

 **Zaizen's Residence, (just after Blue Angel logs out)**

Within the place a sphere of light was slowly vanishing, and within the disappearing sphere was Aoi Zaizen in her school uniform still, as she was in fact Blue Angel. "You've logged out." her Duel Disk told her, making her open her eyes.

" _I hope he watched that..._ " she thought sitting up, then made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from the fridge and then sat down on the sofa near a window, where the bustling sounds of the city could be heard, but this also gave her an amazing view of the sunset.

Which she slowly saw disappear, "It'd be nice… for brother to love me again." she muttered to herself, as she was talking about her brother, Akira Zaizen, who now a days, just spent his time working.

Sure he did it to ensure they never had to go back to the life they had before, but she'd like him to pay her more attention, this was mainly the reason for her becoming Blue Angel, well that and a book…

" _What else can I do to gain his attention beside Dueling as Blue Angel?_ " she thought, as Akira most likely knew about her being Blue Angel, which she hoped, " _Cooking? No, I haven't been taught to do that, I'd probably burn something._ " she thought.

" _Get a boyfriend? No… They'd only be with me for a job or something, they wouldn't truly love me..._ " she frowned at that thought. As that was mainly the reason people approached her, for a job at SOL Technologies for when they finished school, or the new Duel Disk that came out, they weren't cheap.

"The only thing that would work is Dueling..." she said out loud which made her think about something else, " _Brother has been trying to catch Playmaker for that AI thing he's got, maybe if I could Duel him for it, and win, I could give it to Brother, and he may pay more attention to me!_ " she thought smiling.

" _Or better yet, beat Codebuster and his new Deck, that way brother would see me as a person that can be depended on_..." she thought thinking about the Bounty Hunter, but her thoughts trailed back to Playmaker, having gained a some-what crush on him for saving her virtual life back then…

"I do it! I'll beat both Playmaker and Codebuster!" she declared gazing out the window…

* * *

 **Café Nagi, (30 minutes later)**

The mobile truck was hidden from sight, and within the truck was Yusaku, Ai and Shoichi with him typing into the computer, "Unbelievable. It's impossible..." Shoichi said, "What is?" Yusaku asked, this made Shoichi hit a button, making a picture of a girl with brown bob cut hair, wearing the female school uniform of Yusaku's school.

"This is Aoi Zaizen, 16 years old, Sister-in-law to Akira Zaizen, the Security Manager of SOL Technologies..." Shoichi read, "As well as Blue Angel's true identity." he added, "Oh really?" Ai asked.

"So?" Yusaku asked nonchalant, "Do you notice anything about her uniform?" Shoichi said, shocking Ai, who realised it, but Yusaku still didn't, "Wow. Still can't see what's in front of your nose." he joked. With this Yusaku focused hard on the picture and also realised, "She goes to my school." Yusaku said.

"Exactly. "Yusaku, I thought that if you get to know her..." Shoichi went to explain, "… You can get information for us." he said, "Mostly about your lost memories and my brother from the Zaizen of SOL Technologies..." he finished.

"But that's impossible..." he said leaning back on his chair with a grin, "Why is it impossible?" Ai asked, "You do know we're talking about Yusaku right?" Shoichi said to the AI, "Could you imagine. Yusaku trying to talk to a girl?" he said, trying to not laugh.

"Yeah, this will be impossible..." Ai agreed looking away from his captor. "I'll have you know that I can." Yusaku said, slightly blushing, "Please. You were lucky that Aito actually wanted to be your friend, you have to actual try and be her friend." Ai said, making Shoichi smirk more.

"See. Impossible. Impossible impossible. Totally impossible Not possible. Never possible." he went on with Ai laughing at this, " _I show them..._ " Yusaku thought annoyed, but deep down… he was nervous, as this would be the first girl he actually talked to…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Third Story, (22:34 PM)**

Within the building still up and on his computer was Matoyia, he was staying up as late as he could, not that it mattered, as it was his day off tomorrow, along with the next day, so he could sleep in and do anything, hence why he was doing what he was doing now before that.

"Let's see who Blue Angel really is..." he said to himself as he was within SOL Technologies's systems, going though the accounts of the people that used Link VRAINS, a few minutes later he found what he was looking for.

It was a picture of a girl with brown bob cut hair, "Aoi Zaizen!? Akira has a little sister?!" he said a bit shocked by this, but then he read more on her, "Oh! Sister by marriage between their parents, who died on the day of their anniversary in a car crash..." he read, a bit said by that, yet another family losing parents.

"I knew she was younger than me as Blue Angel..." he said to himself, " _Well honestly, I actually thought Blue Angel in real life was a 30 year old anime nerd or something..._ " he thought, then shuddered at the thought.

"I don't really need much from her or Akira, as I'm already in SOL without being detected..." he said, and with this he got out of the system, and turned off his computer.

"That will be all for now, time to sleep in..." he said yawning, and with that he got into bed and fell asleep… "Maybe I can Duel her… just once..." he mumbled in his sleep…

* * *

 **Den City High School, the next day, (13:06 PM)**

Sitting down on a circular stone bench near a hedgerow was Yusaku, watching as students walked by, with his Duel Disk raised up. "So it's possible?" Ai asked, his voice being turned down just so the other students didn't hear him.

"Honestly, I didn't think you had a thing for picking up girls." it added, "I don't." Yusaku said, "Anyway, school is full of people who are dressed the same, so it makes it harder to tell them apart-" Ai said.

"Just hurry up and find her." Yusaku retorted, "Fine. Let me see..." Ai said as he started to scan individual girls strolling by, they didn't match, so he narrowed his eye, "Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope." he said, but suddenly he spotted her, just on the other side of the fountain, walking somewhere.

"Found her!" it said, making Yusaku look at his direction, he too spotted her, so he got up and followed at a safe distance. A few minutes later, they were inside the school building, at the third level, which mostly held the club rooms.

"Wow! By combining the data of each of her parts, I'd classify her as beautiful." Ai said to Yusaku, "Stay quiet and keep watch." Yusaku said back, suddenly Aoi then stopped, turned to a door to a room, opened it and walked in.

Yusaku then walked up to the room she walked into, and was mildly surprised at what the door read "Duel Club?..." he said to himself, reading from the plaque on the door, "Fujiki!" Naoki said, making him turn to greet not only him, but Aito, who was being dragged by Naoki.

"Naoki. Aito. What are you doing here?" Yusaku asked, "I'm a member of the Duel Club!" Naoki gloated, "As for Aito, I ran into him on my way in, and decided that he'd be perfect for the Club, as we're looking for members." he explained, "But-" Aito went to say.

"So what are you doing here with your Duel Disk?" he said, cutting Aito off, "Well..." Yusaku went to explain, "Oh, I know! You came to join the Duel Club like Aito!" Naoki rushed to say.

"Me? Duel Club?" Yusaku said actually surprised, "Oh, I didn't know this room was the Duel Club." he quickly said, "Stop playing dumb!" Naoki said grinning, "This place isn't for a loser who has no interest in Link VRAINS!" Naoki said, "Well… if you excuse me-" Aito said, trying to leave, but was caught in Naoki's arm again.

"But you said you wanted to join!?" Naoki said, looking at Aito, " _I don't think he ever said that..._ " Yusaku thought, looking at the nervous Aito. Suddenly the door opened, revealing a boy with glasses and a flat nose.

"What's the ruckus, Shima?" the boy said, "I can hear you from inside." he added, "P-President! I'm sorry." Naoki said bowing, "But it's their fault-" he went to say, "It's fine. New Applicants are always welcomed." the boy said looking over Yusaku and Aito

"Please come in." he said walking back in, "No, wait..." Yusaku went to say, but- "Okay! Thank you!" Yusaku said, the real one was shocked but it was actually Ai, mimicking his voice, "How dare you..." Yusaku... The real one said glaring at his Duel Disk, as Naoki walked through the door, dragging Aito with him.

A few moment later, Yusaku was standing up front, along with Aito, with a sour looking Naoki, "I'm freshman Yusaku Fujiki." he said then bowed, "Freshman Aito Haru..." Aito said nervously, then did a shaky bow.

"I'm Hosoda, Club President." the boy now named Hosoda said, "I'm Tanaka. Second year." Tanaka, a small boy with red hair in a short pony tail. "I'm also second year. Sato." Sato, a large boy with thins glasses on said. "I'm freshman Suzuki." Suzuki, a tall boy with an egg shaped head, with brown hair that framed it said.

"I'm freshman Zaizen," Aoi said, "Say, do you want to see the new Duel Disk?" Sato asked, lifting his arm up to reveal the new Duel Disk. "Oh! The version with an AI that supports you during a Duel." Yusaku said, veining interest, "Hey! I already showed you my Duel Disk!" Naoki yelled at him.

He then went to rant at Yusaku more, but the door opened again, to reveal AnDru Plast, his sister AnDra and Ayano.

"Oh what are you three doing here?" Hosoda asked, "I hear Naoki Shima was a member here..." AnDru said, looking at Naoki, "You forgot to pay me for fixing your Duel Disk!" he reminded the boy.

"Oh right!" Naoki yelled, he then quickly reached into his pocket and took out the 1000 yen for AnDru, who took it, "Are you perhaps interested in joining the Duel Club?" Hosoda asked, "No not-" AnDru went to say, but he noticed Yusaku and Aito.

"Oh Yusaku, Aito, what are you doing here?" he asked, generally surprised. At this Noaki snorted, "I got them to join!" he gloated, "But I-" Yusaku went to say, "Oh really, then if you're joining, I think I'll join too!" he said, "Then I'll join!" AnDra said hugging her brother from behind. "Me too." Ayano said.

"Anyways, you sure know a lot about the new Duel Disk." Aoi said to Yusaku, "Only because Shima keeps bragging about it." he said back to her, "But he's not the only one with it..." he added, this made Naoki feel unspecial now, "Hey! I never said I was only one that had it! Stop trying to make me look bad!" Naoki yelled at him.

"Zaizen's brother is a big shot at SOL Technologies." he further added, "So they gave it to us first before releasing to the public!" he said, but a soft glare from Aoi silenced him from shock and fear. With Ai he was chatting up Aoi's Duel Disk Ai.

"Hey, new model! How goes it?" it asked, "Hello." her AI said back in a female voice, "Ah good. Always make sure to greet me like that." Ai said, "I don't know what you mean." it said back, "You have no social skills..." Ai said annoyed. "Unable to comprehend." it said, making Aoi alert to this, making Ai shocked and closing his eye.

With her now looking at Yusaku's Duel Disk, it reminded her of Playmaker's one, "A Card insertion-type Duel Disk?" she said to Yusaku, "Yeah." he said to her, "The same kind as Playmaker's." she said, with this making Yusaku go quiet, nervous that she was onto something.

"Seriously right?" Naoki said walking up to them, "I think he's copying Playmaker." he sneered, "But why does Playmaker use an old-type of Duel Disk?" he asked, "Well, for one thing, the cards you put in, they don't require you to upload them into the Cloud." AnDru explained.

"Still it's so sad that he's behind the times. At least Codebuster upped his game when the new one came out!" Naoki said, making AnDru flinch at that name, having a run in with the bounty hunter last night, not that anyone knew though.

"Could you show me your Deck?" Aoi asked Yusaku, with this also peeking AnDru's interest, " _She must want to know if I'm Playmaker..._ " Yusaku thought, "Now that's rude Zaizen. You don't asking people about their Decks" Hosoda said.

"After all, A Deck is a Duelist's life!" he added, "No, it's fine. Take a look." Yusaku said, reaching into his pocket, and retrieving 'his' Deck. He handed it to Aoi, who looked through the cards, one by one, as though looking for a mistake, "Thank you." she said, about to hand the Deck back, when-

"Cutting in!" Naoki said, snatching the Deck from his, "Let me take a look!" he said, going through the Deck, and to tell the truth he was generally surprised. "Wow! What a good Knightmare Deck!" he said going through the cards again. AnDru then peeked over his shoulder to look at that. "Good deck here Yusaku, but why don't you Duel?" AnDru asked.

"I do sometimes, but not very much." Yusaku lied, not that they knew, "Shima! That's rude!" Hosoda said, "As a Duelist, it's bad behaviour, to look throught another's Deck without permission!" he added, making Naoki feel bad.

"Alright fine! Sorry..." Naoki said, handing the Deck back, "Thank you." Yusaku said, internally smirking, " _Good thing I always carry a Dummy Deck on me..._ " he thought, as if he only had his real Deck on him, which had Cyberse monsters, people like Aoi, or AnDru would figure out he was Playmaker.

At first the Deck was just random cards, but Shoichi pointed out that people would tell that he made it like that on purpose, so he had to buy new cards, that were up to date, hence Knightmare being a choice.

With this, everyone then took a sit, with Hosoda standing at front, "First, let's check the Speed Duel rules." he said, with this AnDru put his hand up, "Yes AnDru." he said, "The first main difference between it and Master Duels is that Speed Duels only have 3 Main Monster Zone and 3 Spell & Trap Zones." AnDru answered.

"Yes, what are the other differences?" Hosoda asked, "You only start with 4 cards each!" AnDra said raising her hand after saying that, "There's also no second main phase after the battle phase!" Tanaka said.

While they talked Yusaku was staring at Aoi from behind, " _Ai is right… she does look beautiful..._ " he thought but was shocked at what he fought, this made him shake his head of those thoughts, he didn't have time for something like that.

"Right, now that we've talked about a Speed Duel, we can have a quick demonstration!" Hosoda said, making them all confused. "Zaizen, did you talk to your brother about that thing?" he said, making her frown slightly.

"Yes..." she said, she then reached into her bag and brought out a USB, "My brother has created a Speed Duel format for us to practice on..." she said holding the USB up, shocking most, but not Yusaku and AnDru.

"So we get to practice Speed Dueling?!" Naoki yelled, "Yes, so who would like to go first?" Hosoda asked, with this Naoki practically jumped from his chair, reached into a storage cupboard and brought out two VR Headset.

Upon seeing it, Yusaku flinch, but he didn't show it… Aito on the other hand, was visibly shaken by the sight of it. "I volunteer to go first!" Naoki said, "Great, but who will your opponent be?" Hosoda asked.

With this Naoki did a quick scan of the room, first he eyed Yusaku, but then he remembered his Deck, which was better than his, so he was out, then he looked at AnDru, but he then remembered that he told him he won 64 times against his boss, so he too was out.

Then his gaze landed on Aito, who was shaking in slight fear, Naoki seeing this, thought he had spooked him, so he thought he could showcase going against a weaker Duelist, "Aito!" he said, shocking Aito.

"M-Me!?..." Aito stuttered out, with this alerting Yusaku to his friend's behaviour, "Yeah! Come on!" he said walking over to Aito, who started to move back, "N-N-No! I don't e-e-even have a D-Deck!..." Aito panicked to say.

"So, we've got rental Decks!" Naoki said, then just as quick, fitted the headset over Aito's eye… who had instantly froze the second it was on him. "See, it's fine, now let's-" Naoki said grinning, his eyes closed, unaware that Aito was petrified now.

"Aito?" Aoi asked, with this making everyone concerned for the young boy, but said boy was experiencing something that he hoped to never experience again.

" _You lose! You lose! You lose!_ " a robotic voice within Aito's mind repeated, each time it repeated, he twitched and shook, and hyperventilated.

"Hey… Aito..." Naoki said waving his hand in front of the distress boy, "What's wrong?" he asked as he touched his shoulder, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Aito suddenly yelled out, yanking the headset off, and throwing it at Naoki's face, who recoiled and fell over, shocking everyone.

"Ow! What's the big deal-" Naoki yelled getting up but froze when he saw Aito, now in a corner, curled into a ball, and rocking back and forth, "I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose!" Aito muttered as tears fell from his eyes.

This had made the others shocked at this, no one more than Yusaku and Ai, " _I don't believe it… He's-_ " he thought, "Someone take him to the reception!" Ayano shouted, making them snap out of their thoughts of shock.

"Right." Yusaku said, as he made his way over to Aito, "I'll help." AnDru said, also making his way over to Aito, the two then picked up Aito by a shoulder, and hulled him together on their shoulders. "I think we should end the meeting now..." Hosoda said, and everyone agreed at this.

"Let's go." Yusaku said, with AnDru nodding, with this, AnDra and Ayano held the door open and the two, holding Aito made their way to the reception area, "Honestly Shima. Why did you do that?" Hosoda scolded.

"Hey! I didn't know that he'd react like that!" Naoki defended, "But still what do you think could such a strong reaction like that?" Sato said, making them think.

With Yusaku and the others, they were trying to calm Aito down, but it wasn't working, "Poor guy..." AnDra said sad for Aito, who still silently muttered "I don't want to lose...", "Something terrible must have happened involving a headset..." AnDru said concerned for the guy he was carrying.

"Must have..." Yusaku muttered, but on the inside he was still surprised, " _I still can't believe it… Aito Haru… is a victim of the Lost Incident..._ " he thought, it made sense to him, why Aito didn't have a Duel Disk, or didn't Duel anymore, like he said he didn't in a long time. And the reaction with the headset made it all clear to him.

"Let's hurry so we can call his family!" Ayano said, "Right!" the two boys said, as they then walked slightly faster…

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story, (10 minutes later)**

Currently with Matoyia, he was in the Living Room, with a headset on, as he was in VR Royale. VR Royale was a MMORPG, that could connect with Link VRAINS, it was kind of like Link VRAINS, but it had many other feature or maps and games to play and explore.

Within one of them, which was a battlefield was Matoyia, dressed in military armour, he was lying down, looking through the scope of the Barrett M98B, he was aimed at an unexpected enemy.. "And..." he muttered pulling the trigger, with this causing the bullet to escape at high velocity and hit the unexpected target… Right in the head.

This killed the other player in the game, "Heheheh…" Matoyia laughed as he got 2000 points for that headshot, then went to reload. "Watch your 11!" Sora yelled laying down next to him and firing his gun, which was a H&K MP5SD3, downing an enemy.

"Right!" Matoyia, as he reloaded, ***Beep! Beep*** Suddenly his Duel Disk went off, "Hold on..." he said, moving back down into their bunker, where he checked on his Duel Disk, which told him that the phone in the real world just rang.

"Gotta go!" he told Sora, who nodded and made his way over Yui, who was also playing with them… but she was fine as she somehow found a flamethrower and was burning opponent's left and right.

"Bye!" he said as he logged out, with this, he took off the headset, and made his way over to the home phone, it had a miss call, so he called the number back. "Hello?" a voice said on the other side.

"Hi. The phone just rang and I was wondering who it was?" he asked, "Oh! Does Asuka Haru live with you?" the voice asked, "Yes..." he said, wondering where this was going. "I'm the receptionist of the Den City High School!" the voice explained, making Matoyia freeze up, this probably concerned Aito.

"What's… wrong?" he asked, "Can you tell me who this is first?" the receptionist asked, "Matoyia Guriddo, room-mate to Asuka Haru..." he gritted out, wanting her to get onto the subject.

"Ah! Well, since you know her, could you tell her that Aito seems to have suffered a panic attack!" they said, shocking him, "Is he alright!?" he asked, "He's seems to have calmed down, but he's in no state to continue school for a while. Do you think you or Asuka could pick him up?" they asked.

"Sure! I'll be there as fast as possible. Bye." he said, putting the phone down, with this, he quickly put his shoes on, grabbed his car keys and made his way downstairs, Asuka was out back and saw him in a rush.

"Matoyia?! What's the rush!?" she asked, making Matoyia stop, he turned and she saw his look of concerned and worry, "Aito suffered a panic attack." he said, shocking her and making her gasp. "I'm going to pick him up." he quickly said, as he rushed outside, and made his way into his car, which was a Subaru Levorg, red in colour.

He got in, started it up, reversed out slowly and drove away, leaving Asuka to stare at where he went to. "What happened to my baby brother..." she whimpered out, tears threatening to spill down her face…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (45 minutes later)**

Within the reception area was Aito, curled into himself on the floor, with Yusaku staying near him, AnDru had wanted to stay, but he insisted he go back and tell the teacher about what happened with Aito, he reluctantly agreed to this and left with AnDra and Ayano.

He had been told by the receptionist, that someone was coming to collect Aito and take him home, he thanked them, and continued to watch over Aito, "So Aito was part of the Incident like you?" Ai asked, since it was only them and Aito in the place.

"Must be. Why else would someone react like that..." Yusaku said, as he continued to stare at the traumatised Aito, "True… This must be reminding you about it as well." it said, "Yeah..." Yusaku said, thinking back to that time.

"You lose..." he mumbled, remembering the words that were etched into his mind, "I don't want to lose..." Aito said weakly, like he had been doing for the past 50 minutes. "Poor kid..." Ai said feeling said for the boy.

"There must be something we can do?" it said, for a while neither of them could of anything, but then Yusaku realised something, "Hey Aito..." he said, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I want you think of 3 things..." he said, remembering the voice of the person that gave him hope during that time.

"Three.. Three things to live. Three things to go home to. Three things to defeat the enemy..." he said, and with each thing, Aito slowly stopped shaking, but he still wasn't right in the mind just yet. "T-T-Three… things?" he mumbled out slowly.

"Hey it worked!" Ai said, "Huh?..." Aito said looking down at the Duel Disk, shocking the two, "Err... I mean… "Idiot" is a prohibited word." it said, like that of many other AI's "What is-" Aito went to stay, but suddenly the door opened, and rushing in was a man of 19 with spiky pale blonde hair with light green tips.

"Aito?" the man asked frantically. "Sir! Please sign in!" the Reception, a middle aged woman said, "Sorry..." the man said, but then noticed Aito and a boy with blue and pink hair. "Aito!" he shouted, walking up to them, with each step Aito started to tear up.

"Matoyia!" Aito cried out, standing up and hugging the man, who returned it, "Shhh… it's okay..." he said to Aito, rocking him back and forth, "Must be his brother..." Ai whispered, "Maybe..." Yusaku whispered back.

"Right… shall we get you home?" Matoyia asked, "Wait." Yusaku said, making Matoyia look at him, "Oh! Are you the one that stayed with Aito?" he asked, "Yes. My name is Yusaku Fujiki." Yusaku introduced himself with a bow.

"Oh! Your that friend Aito told me about!" he said, remembering Aito talked about the guy he said was staring at him, but was now his friend.

"And I'm Matoyia… Matoyia Guriddo." Matoyia introduced himself, he would've bowed, but he had his hands full with hugging Aito. "Guriddo? Your not his brother?" Yusaku asked, "No. I'm room-mates with him and his sister Asuka." he explained, making him nod in understanding.

"Thanks for that, from what the receptionist told me over the phone, Aito was having a panic attack, but he seems to have calmed down significantly..." he said looking at Aito, who was still hugging him.

"So… Thank you!" he said, holding out his left arm for a handshake, "It's fine, anyone would do the same." Yusaku said, reaching out to accept the handshake, with his right arm, where his Duel Disk was on.

"Whoa! I thought you'd have the new one like everyone else these days." Matoyia said, "Why replace something if it still works?" Yusaku explained, "True… anyways, let's get you home..." he said to Aito, who nodded into his shoulder.

"Bye Yusaku! Stop by anytime at Café Haru!" he said leading Aito back outside. "He seems nice." Ai said, "I think I just figured something out..." Yusaku said, as when he got a look at Matoyia, and heard him speak…

It reminded him of someone, someone who was after him for the AI, "Codebuster..." he muttered, shocking the Ai, "You mean that's the shooter in real life!?" Ai yelled, but he instantly muted him, "Who was that?" the receptionist asked, walking in wondering who that was.

"That was me." Yusaku lied, "I was trying a change my voice to something irritating..." he added, making Ai glare at him, " _Payback..._ " Yusaku thought inwardly smirking. "Oh, well seeing that Aito has gone… you can go back to class now." she said.

"Okay." he said, and with that he turned and left, still keeping Ai muted…

* * *

 **With Matoyia… (10 minutes later)**

Within the car, it was quiet, he had turned the radio off the minute he had started driving from home, too preoccupied with Aito's safety to listen to his favourite songs. "What happened?" he asked, he would've asked a few minutes earlier, but he was driving, and now that he was in traffic, he may as well do something to pass the time.

"… A headset..." Aito answered, looking out the window weakly, this made Matoyia grip the steering wheel tighter, as he had been told by Asuka, when they were younger and they first meet, that apparently the police report, that she was allowed to see at the time, said that when they found the children, they also found VR Headsets.

Meaning that was main item used during their time during the Lost Incident, "How did it get on your head?" he asked, he only guessed that he had worn it, but he wouldn't do it voluntary if it led to this reaction.

"Naoki Shima…" Aito said, "Well, I don't think he knew about you personally, so please don't blame him… Your sister will do that!" he joked, but Aito didn't respond, so he decided to change the topic.

"So that was your friend Yusaku huh?" he said, talking about the boy he meet, and who seemed to have helped calm him down, "Yeah..." Aito said, "Well what did he say to you?" he asked, "… Three..." Aito went to say, but he suddenly fell asleep.

"Hmm?" Matoyia said, glancing at him quickly and notice him asleep now, " _Poor kid..._ " he said, " _This will most likely set his progress back a bit._ " he added. " _But it shouldn't matter, I have plenty of money to help him through this..._ " he said, reassuring himself.

The rest of the trip was in silence, as one of the occupants was asleep. Now back home, he parked the car, turned it off, got out, and got Aito out, locked it and carried him as he was quiet light. As he walked up the stair carefully, he heard no noise from the restaurant part, meaning Asuka must have closed up early.

 ***Knock knock*** he tapped the door to the second story of the building, as he had his hands full to open it, he then heard scrambling, a second later, a crazed Asuka yanked the door open, and practically yanked Aito from his grip.

"Oh Aito..." she said hugging him, "He's asleep..." Matoyia whispered, she nodded and made her way to Aito's bedroom, and put Aito to bed, she then walked out and shut the door carefully, and made her way into the living area.

"What caused the panic attack?" she growled out, "Some guy Naoki Shima, put a headset on him..." he explained, with this making her tighten her hands into fist, "But I don't think he meant to cause this, so don't swear on your life to strangle the poor boy." he told her.

"Kay..." she gritted out, loosening her fist, "But still, this will set him back a bit, and he was doing so well..." she said putting her head in her hands, "I know… And I'm going to make sure he can get through this..." he said, as he brought her into a hug…

* * *

 **Zaizen's residence, (17:01 PM)**

"Welcome home, Aoi." A robotic maid said to Aoi, as she stepped out the elevator leading into her home, "Your brother can't come home today due to work." it told her, but no reaction from her, as she was used to such a thing.

Not that it mattered, as she was still thinking about the panic attack Aito Haru had experienced, right in front of them. " _Why did a headset cause such a reaction from him?_ " she wondered thinking back to what he kept muttering, " _I don't want to lose... Is losing that bad for him?_ " she thought,

She decided to distract herself with TV, so she sat down, threw her school to one side, pressed a button of the electronic coffee table thing, and leaned back as the TV turned on… where she saw her brother on TV.

" _There are rumours that SOL Technologies initiated the Duel between Go Onizuka and Playmaker._ " she heard a reported say, this alerted her, she didn't think SOL would go that far for what they wanted.

" _Ask our PR Department._ " Akira said quickly from the TV and made to leave, " _Is this a new business strategy?_ " another reported asked, " _No comment._ " he said, " _Will the next match be Blue Angel vs Player or is Codebuster involved?_ " another asked, this peeked her interest at her virtual ego being mentioned.

" _No_." Akira said, and this made Aoi turn the TV off, lean back and sigh, "Why not?" she asked herself.

Later on, she was now on her bed, busy staring at the ceiling, suddenly her phone rang and she looked at who called.

"Brother?" she said surprised, then excepted the call, which created a video call where Akira was staring at her "Aoi." he said, "Evening. I saw you on the news." she said, "Why are you unhappy?" he suddenly asked, throwing her off.

"Eh?" she said confused, "How long will you pretend to be an idol?" he asked, "Well..." she went to say, but he then cut her off, "Speed Duels are dangerous. I only gave you that USB program, just so you could show your fellow club members and yourself how dangerous they are, and they would stay out of them." he said.

"If you make a mistake during one, you may die." he added, "Please stop immediately." he said, "… Yes, brother." she said.

"I'm only saying this because I care about you. Understand?" he said, "I understand, Brother." she said, "Listen, no one must find out about you being Blue Angel." he added, "I know..." she said, "Just think of my position." he added, "Yes, Brother." she said, and with that she ended the call.

With that, she just went back to staring at the ceiling, " _I just want my brother to know that I can hold my own out there. That he doesn't need worry so much. So he can come home early..._ " she thought.

Then she remembered from the TV, about Blue Angel against Playmaker or Codebuster being involved, this made her sit up, "I'll do it for you, Brother." she said, making up her mind. She then slipped her Duel Disk onto her wrist, the one for Blue Angel.

"Into the VRAINS." she said, closing her eyes as the data sphere appeared around her…

* * *

 **Hanoi's base, (a few moment later)**

"Is it ready?" Revolver asked, as standing before him was Baira, Faust and Dr Genome, with Valcry, Vire, Talon and Ares at the side, with Spectre by his right.

"Here Revolver." Baira said as appearing in her hand was a sphere of data, it had a dark eerie aura to it, "The Another virus..." he said holding the data in his hand, "Tested?" he asked, "Yes. The prototype of our virus works. Along with it's removal program for it." Faust said.

"It's DNA was most lovely to redesign!" Dr Genome said with joy, "So that's the virus that put your sister in a coma?" Valcry asked walking closer to look at it in Revolver's hand, who let her. "Yes… That despicable virus is the reason I'm even here with you lot." Talon spat out.

"And like we want you here..." Ares said, this caused him and Talon to glare at one another, with Vire smirking at this, "Ah! Such hate!" Vire hissed out happily, then turned to Revolver, "Have you picked out the next victim for it?" he asked, and this made Talon glare at him at the next part, making him grin.

"Hmm… who would be a perfect candidate for us to use?" Revolver said, "How about her?" Spectre said, looking at the screen behind them, making them all look at it and see 'her' that he was referring to…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (same time)**

Riding on the Data Storm stream on her D-Board was Blue Angel, smiling as she did, suddenly a screen appeared in front of her, an invitation to a Duel. "Blue Angel, will you Duel me?" a boy asked on the screen.

"Pass!" she said waving the screen away, but another took its place, "Blue Angel will-" a handsome looking boy went to asked, "Pass!" she said swiping his screen away too… only for another to appear, this time the guy looked like a creep, "Pass!" she said swiping it away before the guy could say a thing.

" _If I can defeat Playmaker, or Codebuster, then my brother will know that I can hold my own..._ " she thought, up above as she travelled along was Frog and Pigeon, who were now back.

"Look! It's Blue Angel!" Frog yelled, "Roll the camera!" he said to Pigeon who cooed to affirm this, as they got closer she notice them, "Hi!" she cheered, then jumped off her D-Board and landed on a data structure that was under development.

* * *

" _Everyone, I'm here!_ " she cheered, making the crowd in the Square Plaza to cheer, at the Café Haru, Second Story, Matoyia was watching this, "Blue Angel back already? She usually takes a few days off before Dueling again." he said to himself.

"You _there! And you over there! Watch!_ " she yelled, as near a mobile truck, standing outside it was Shoichi and Yusaku, who was eating a hotdog.

" _I declare that I, Blue Angel will Duel Playmaker and win!_ " she announced, shocking most people, " _And if he wants to, I'll have time to Duel Codebuster!_ " she added, further shocking them, mostly Matoyia, but he then smirked.

"Hey Asuka!" he yelled, "What?" she yelled back from Aito's room as she was watching over him as he slept, not wanting him to wake up.

"Could you wake Aito up? I think I have a way to cheer him up!" he said as he looked at his Duel Disk.

"What is it?" she asked, "Just make sure your watching Link VRAINS in there! Into the VRAINS!" he yelled as he was covered in the data sphere.

* * *

Blue Angel vs Playmaker or Codebuster!" a woman in the Plaza said excited, "Awesome! When?" a guy asked, as Yusaku continued to eat his hot dog, not even going to bother Dueling her, there was nothing to gain, and she wasn't Hanoi.

" _Come out, Playmaker_! _Codebuster_!" Blue Angel yelled, hands on her hips, " _C'mon! I know your watching you too!_ " she said as Yusaku finished his meal, again still not moving, " _Accept my challenge!_ " she said.

"Now why is she fired up for?" Shoichi said, "Duel her! Get it over with." Ai said, "I refuse." Yusaku said, "One: I only approached Aoi Zaizen to get a lead on my stolen memories..." he said, not knowing he was secretly lying to himself and was blushing, but it was faint so the two near him didn't see it.

"Two: I only fight the Knights of Hanoi, or anyone who will get in the way of that, this will eventually include Codebuster, but I hope to avoid that for as long as possible." he said, "And three: Blue Angel isn't Hanoi." he finished. "People will end up calling you a coward for this." Ai pointed out.

"So? What they think doesn't affect me at all." he said.

" _Playmaker, Duel me!_ " she yelled again, from Hanoi's base, Revolver had watched the entire thing, and was smirking, "Now this is getting interesting." he said.

* * *

Blue Angel was looking about, hoping to spot Playmaker approaching, while this happened she could hear the MC rant on about the Duel that she hoped to take place would be bigger and better than Playmaker vs Go Onizuka.

"Listen, call me if-" Frog went to say, but he heard the sound of a D-Board approach, alerting her and everyone watching, "Oh?" Frog said, looking at the direction the sound came from, when he saw him.

"It's Codebuster!" the MC yelled out as the camera panned over to Codebuster, who was in fact approaching Blue Angel.

"Codebuster vs Blue Angel?" Hiroshi cheered from his apartment, "My dream is coming true!" he gleefully yelled, suddenly Codebuster shuddered for some reason. "Blue Angel!" he said as he jumped off D-Board, somersaulted, and landed next to her, arms out as he stuck the landing.

"Good job! 10 out of 10!" she said clapping for him, "Thank you..." he said, "Now you must know why I'm here?" he said smirking, causing her to smile, "To Duel right?" she asked, making the crowd go quiet for his answer.

"Yes." he answered, making the crowd cheer loudly, "As a Charisma Duelist, I can never back down a challenge from a fellow Charisma Duelist." he said, "That's great! Can we start now?" she asked jumping on the spot.

"Sure! After you..." he said bowing and leaning to one side, wanting her to go first, like a gentlemen would do for their date… This thought made Matoyia, inside Codebuster to blush. " _What the hell was that?_ " he thought to himself. Now there will probably be fan art of him and Blue Angel, not if he had anything to do about it.

"Thank you!" she said with a giggle, she then walked off the edge, where her D-Board caught her, Codebuster then followed her lead, where his caught him too.

"This is it folks! A Duel of the century is about to start!" the MC shouted, "Codebuster, using his new Deck has beaten Go Onizuka in a friendly Duel! Can he pull another win from Blue Angel?!" he asked.

* * *

From their home, Aito was now awake, still under the effect of his stress, but he was now watching the Duel that was about to take place, "See honey? He wants to make you happy again!" his sister said hugging him as he watch.

* * *

"Okay! Here we go! Everyone!" Blue Angel cheered. Codebuster smirked, "Let's give these people a show they'll remember for a long time!" he said.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing four cards each.

Blue Angel's LP: **4000**

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Ladies first!" she said winking at the audience, "To start with, I activate the Spell, Terraforming!" she said, "This let's me add a Field Spell from my Deck to my Hand!" she said as she took the card that ejected itself from her Deck.

"Then I activate the Field Spell, Trickstar Light Stage!" she said, as the card appeared on the field, "When this card is activated, I can add 1 Trickstar monster from my Deck to my Hand!"

"The Trickstar I added is Lilybell, and with her effect when added to my Hand, other than drawing it, I can Special Summon her!" she said, waving her hand over the card, making a twintail pink haired fairy to appear. For each twin tail there was a white Chinese puffs to contain some of it. She wore a set of red earphones that was connected to golden tiara with what appeared to be a ribbon that looked like a pair of bunny ears. She wore a layered red, white and black dress with puffy shoulders. On her chest was the Trickstar symbol which appeared to be a crimson heart that looked to be shaped as a skull without the lower jaw and on her back she had a set of fairy wings. In one hand she was carrying a big gold, blue and red bell on the end of a wand. Under her right eye, which were blue was a small red tattoo. She was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone in Defense.

 **Trickstar Lilybell: LIGHT, Level: 2 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/** 800 **DEF/2000**

"Then I Normal Summon Trickstar Cardina!" she said waving her hand over the new card, and now appearing from a burst of golden powder was a new fairy, she had upwards ponytail that was swirled, she had brown eyes with a yellow tattoo under the right side of her face on her cheek. She wore a beautiful golden yellow-white-black dress, and brown-yellow striped stockings. Like Lilybell, she also but two twin fairy wings on her back, and she had the same symbol as Lilybell, but it was smaller, and around her neck. In one had was a yellow megaphone. She was Summoned to Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Trickstar Cardina: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Fairy/Effect ATK/1800 DEF/** 400

"And then when she's Normal Summoned, I can add 1 Trickstar card from my Deck to my Hand!" she said adding another card to her Hand.

"Come out! The Circuit of dreams and hope!" she cheered, as sparks flew from her and into the air, this caused the Link Portal to appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Trickstar monsters!" she said, "I now set Lilybell and Cardina in the Link Markers!" she said, as the monsters turned into twisters, with Lilybell hitting the Bottom Left and Cardina the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Trickstar Holly Angel!" she said as a young woman, who had long pale brown grey hair, that curled at the end, she also had pure blue eyes, and on the left side of her face a blue heart tattoo. She was wearing golden -blue headphones with blue heart shapes on either end covering the ears, she also had a golden ring on top of her head. Like the other two, she had two twin fairy wings. She wore a frilly blue-white-black-golden dress, with a long coattail that was cut out in the middle that resembled a heart, with puffy shoulders, black frilly armbands with white long arm gloves, and purple-golden striped stockings, along with golden high-heels with a red gem fitted into each one, on her upper chest, above her bust was the Trickstar symbol. She was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Blue Angel's Left.

 **Trickstar Holly Angel: LIGHT [Fairy/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"She took the one on the Left." Codebuster gritted out, "Most people go for the Right, but I set myself apart from everyone by doing this sometimes." she explained.

"Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth!" she said, "After I Link Summon, I can Special Summon 1 monster from my Graveyard to a Main Monster Zone a Link Monster I control points to!" she said. "I bring back Cardina!" she said as Cardina appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone in ATK.

"Holly Angel's effect!" she cheered, "When a Trickstar is Summoned to a Zone she points to, you take 200 damage!" she said with a smirk and wink at him, Holly Angel then created her weapon, which was a vine whip with a spiked red ball at the end. She then whipped it around and hit Codebuster with it. Codebuster's LP: **4000 – 200 = 3800**.

"Then Light Stage's effect deals you an additional 200 damage" she added, as a beam from Light Stage hit Codebuster, **3800 – 200 = 3600** (Codebuster)

"Then Holly Angel gains ATK equal to the damage you took from a Trickstar monster's effect!" she said, Holly Angel's ATK: **2000 + 200 = 2200**.

"Then I set two cards and end my turn!" she said as two cards appeared than faded. "Your up Codebuster! Show us what you got!" she said winking back at him. "As its ending, Holly Angel's ATK returns to normal!" she said, **2200 = 2000** (Holly Angel)

Blue Angel's Hand x 0

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I draw!" he said drawing his card, "Since I activate the Continious Spell, Weirware Uploading!" he said. "Cardina's effect!" Blue Angel cheered, "Each time you activate a Spell or Trap and she's on the Field, you take 200 damage!" she said, Cardina then yelled into her megaphone, and the sound waves hit Codebuster, making his eardrums ache. **36** **00 – 200 = 3** **4** **00** (Codebuster)

"Then Light Stage deals you an additional 200 damage!" she said, as a green sparkly beam from Light Stage also hit Codebuster, **3** **4** **00 – 200 = 3** **2** **00** (Codebuster)

"Now Holly Angel gains the damage you took from Cardina!" she said, **2000 + 200 = 2200** (Holly Angel)

"Blue Angel hammers away at CodeBuster's LP!" the MC cheered, "Once per turn, with Uploading's effect, when I control no monsters or only Weirdware monsters, I can add 1 Weirdware monster from my Deck!" he said as he took the card that he selected from his Deck.

"Now since you control more cards than me..." he said, "I can Special Summon Weirdware Portgate from my Hand or Graveyard along 1 other Weirdware monster from the same location!" he explained.

"From my Hand I Summon it and Weirdware Duo-ble!" he said, now the first to appear was four hexagonal plates in a row, then they split off a bit, the centre of each opened, and a different part appeared. 2 were the arms with the portals being at the wrist, the hands had three fingers in a triangle formation. 1 was a chest, but on the other side were 6 flat panels in taking the shape of two wings. The last piece, which was slightly bigger, went flat, on bottom side a spin top like UFO saucer part, and the upper part was a connection point, this connected to the chest, that made a head appear, which has a single light green eye. And the arms connected to the chest part, the overall colours were green, light green and some dark green. It was Summoned in the Left Main Monster Zone.

The second one appeared was in one piece, this was Duo-ble, and like the other Weirdware monsters, it was cybernetic, it was a dark red, and orange, it had two spiked up shoulders, and it's area was wider… as the monster itself had two heads, but one was sideways, connected on the shoulder. It also had two sets of arms, but the second lower one were two small beam cannons. Both heads both only had 1 eye on their black screen, one on the normal head was yellow, and the one of the side was orange. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Portgate: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 500 **DEF/1400**

 **Weirdware Duo-ble: FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 600

"Two monsters already?" Blue Angel said amazed, "Then I Normal Summoned Weirdware Installer!" he said as Installer appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Installer: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/600 DEF/** 1300

"Installer's effect! Once per turn, I can set 1 Spell or Trap from my Deck!" he said as a card appeared face down, then faded. "Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he yelled as a light formed in his right hand, making a Link Portal appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is 1 Level 2 or lower Weirdware monster!" he said, "I set Installer in the Link Marker!" he said as Installer turned into a beam of energy of it's colour, and hit the Bottom Right Link Marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Weirdware Repeater!" he said, as appearing from the Link Portal, was dark blue flattish cybernetic bug. It was circular in shape, and within the middle, which was exposed was a gear, which was rotating anti-clockwise. It had 6 stubby legs, 3 on either side, and at the front where its head was a curved head, it had a black screen, and on it were 5 yellow eyes. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Left.

 **Weirdware Repeater: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/800 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↘

"Again! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he yelled as the Link Portal appeared again. "Again!?" Blue Angel yelled in slight shock.

"The Summoning conditions are 2 Weirdware monsters!" he said, "I now set Duo-ble in the Link Marker!" he said with only that monster turning into a orange energy beam, however what he said confused everyone.

"But you said two?!" Blue Angel said to him, "True but since Duo-ble was linked when used as Material, it counts as two!" he explained as Duo-ble's beam split into two, one hit the Middle Left, and other the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Weirdware Virus Buster!" he yelled as Virus Buster appeared, being Summoned into the Middle Main Monster Zone that Repeater pointed to.

 **Weirdware Virus Buster: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Element Booster!" he said, playing a card, the picture was that of a monster silhouette, around it were the six attributes for Duel Monster, the silhouette had an aura the same as one of the attributes.

"Cardina's effect!" Blue Angel said, **3** **2** **00 – 200 = 3** **0** **00** (Codebuster), "Then Light Stage!" she added, **3** **0** **00 – 200 =** **28** **00** (Codebuster) "Then Holly Angel's effect!" she said, **2200 + 200 = 2400** (Holly Angel)

"She's picking away his LP!" Ai said, "Since I used a monster as material to Special Summon a monster from the Extra Deck, that had the same Attribute, I can make the Summoned monster gain ATK equal to Duo-ble's!" he said shocking her. "Duo-ble had 1200 ATK, meaning Buster gains that until the end of the turn!" he said. Virus Buster's ATK: **1900 + 1200 = 3100**.

"Now I activate Portgate's effect!" he said, "Since it's linked to Buster, once per turn, I can relocate it to an un-used Main Monster Zone!" he said, this caused Portgate to disassemble, then move into the Right Main Monster Zone and assemble again.

"By doing this, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster from my Deck!" he said, "So now I Summon Weirdware Ventilator!" he said as Ventilator appeared in the Zone that Portgate was in before.

 **Weirdware Ventilator: WIND, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1000 **DEF/1200**

"Once more!" he yelled, shocking everyone as once again the Link Portal appeared, "The Summoning conditions are two Weirdware monsters!" he said,

"I now set Ventilator and Portgate in the Link Markers!" he said, making the mentioned monsters turn into twisters, with Ventilator hitting the Bottom Left, and Portgate the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Weirdware Voltage Conductor!" he said, as now appearing from the portal was a somewhat tall and thin Weirdware monster, the colour on it was a dark purple, on its arms which were bulky and barrel shaped were 2 long transparent tubes, there were two similar to them on its back, but spaced out. It fingers were thick and they hollow and tube like. It's legs were doubled jointed, but the heel was spiked and sticking out. It's eyes were narrowed and orange, on its chest was a glowing core.

 **Weirdware Voltage Conductor: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙⬇

"Three Link Monsters!" Blue Angel whispered out amazed, "I set one card!" he said as a card appeared face down. "Battle! Virus Buster attacks Cardina!" he ordered as Buster charged up a beam from it cannon.

A beam from the cannon shot out and hit Cardina, destroying her with an explosion, making Blue Angel recoil from the blast. Blue Angel's LP: **4000 – 1300 = 2700**. "He's taken the lead!..." Aito whispered out as he watched, smiling, this made his sister smile.

"I end my turn!" he said, "With it ending, Element Booster's effect ends..." he said, **3100 = 1900** (Virus Buster) "And Holly Angel's ATK returns to normal..." Blue Angel said gritted out, but the audience didn't notice it. **2400 = 2000** (Holly Angel)

Codebuster's Hand x 0

 **Turn 3**

" _Don't panic, this is just a minor set back..._ " she thought, looking back at Codebuster, who was still calm and silent. "My turn! I draw!" she drew her card.

"I Normal Summon Trickstar Lycoris!" she said waving her hand over the card, making a new Trickstar appear. She had dark long hair that was black-red, with a short ponytail that was in a strange red-pink tip crown thing. She also had a set of headphones like the others, and they matched her colouring. She had ruby like eyes with two small red tattoos on either cheek which were just hidden by her air, and like the others she has two twin fairy wings. Her dress was red-white-black, with long white gloves, brown-white striped stockings and red and brown boots. The skirt of her dress was bizarre, as it had two under layers to it, the first was streamer like, and the second was just wires with a red ball at the end of them. Carried in her left hand was red hilt-guard sword, and she was Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Trickstar Lycoris: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1200

"Then I activate the Trap, Gift of Greed!" she said, shocking Codebuster, "You now draw two cards!" she said, with this, Codebuster drew two cards, the second it happened- "Lycoris's effect!" she said, "Each time you add cards to your Hand, you take 200 damage per card!" she said.

With this causing Lycoris to point her sword at Codebuster and release a beam at him, "Sorry, all is fair in love and war!" she said, making him smirk, "Your right, as now I activate Voltage Conductor's effect!" he said, shocking her.

"When I'm about to take damage from an effect, I can negate that damage!" he said shocking her further, Conductor then lifted it right arm, where air started to be sucked in, this also sucked the beam that was going to hit Codebuster, the tubes on its arms and back then glowed orange.

"Then until the end of the turn, I can target it or a monster it points, which is none, so I target I Conductor, and it gains 1000 ATK until the end of the turn!" he said, Conductor's ATK: **1600 + 1000 = 2600**.

"Since I took no damage from that, Light Stage doesn't activate..." he said smirking, making her grit her teeth, which only he saw. "Fine! Ruin the show for everyone!" she said sounding annoyed, but instantly smiled, "Just kidding!" she cheered, confusing him.

"I now activate the Trap, Trickstar Reincarnation!" she said, as her second face-down flipped up, "All cards in your Hand are banished!" she said, as the cards in his hand burst into particles, shocking him, "Then you draw the same number of banished cards!" she added, he then drew two cards.

She grinned again, "You know what happens, Lycoris now deals you 200 damage for every card you added to your Hand!" she said as Lycoris did the same thing, this time it hit its mark. **2800 – 400 = 2400** (Codebuster) "Now for Light Stage!" she added, **2400 – 200 = 2200** (Codebuster) "Damn it!" he swore.

"Now Holly Angel! Holly Blessing!" she cheered, **2000 + 400 = 2400** (Holly Angel)

"Then I banish Reincarnation..." she said, as her Duel Disk told her it was now banished, "This let's me Special Summon a Trickstar from my Graveyard!" she said, "I Summon back Lilybell!" she said as Lilybell appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone, that Holly Angel pointed to.

"It's happening again!" Ai said, "So that's what she does, pick off the opponent's LP." Yusaku said to himself, "Holly Angel deals you 200 damage since it now points to Lilybell!" she said, **2200 – 200 = 2000** (Codebuster) "Then Light Stage again!" she added, **2000 – 200 = 1800** (Codebuster) "Once more! Holly Blessing!" she added. **2400 + 200 = 2600** (Holly Angel)

"What a performance! Blue Angel's Holly Angel now has the power to take out the rest of Codebuster's LP!" the MC cheered, making Aito frown at this, he wanted Matoyia to win. "Battle! Lilybell will attack you directly!" she said.

Lilybell then rang her bell as she charged at Codebuster, just tapping him on the shoulder with hit, but it still hurt. **1800 – 800 = 1000** (Codebuster) "Now her effect along with Holly Angel's and Light Stage!" she yelled excited.

"First Light Stage!" she said holding a finger up, **1000 – 200 = 800** (Codebuster) "Then Holly Angel!" she added, holding a second finger up, **2600 + 800 = 3200** (Holly Angel) "And then since Lilybell dealt damage to you, I can add a Trickstar monster in my Graveyard to my Hand!" she said adding Cardina, as she was the only one in there.

"It wasn't worth it Codebuster! Better luck next time!" she said winking and swirling about on her Board, expecting him to react or do something, but he didn't. "Holly Angel now attacks Repeater!" she ordered flashy.

This caused her ace monster to lift her weapon above her, swing it around, until it got enough momentum, and let it loose at Repeater, who was then destroyed in a huge explosion. "And that's game folks!" she cheered to the crowd, waiting for the Duel Disk to tell her that she won…

But it never did, "Huh?" she said confused, "You should really pay attention..." a voice called out from with the smoke of the explosion, shocking her, she looked back and saw Codebuster just soar through. **800 = 800** (Codebuster)

"Before you go off wondering how, I activated the Trap, Damage Denser!" he said as a face-down flipped up, shocking her, "That's the card you used against Go!" she yelled stunned.

"Correct! I know how your Deck works, basically everyone does, with what all your showcasing it for us!" he said, but what he said bugged her, her face showed it briefly in annoyance, but only he saw, which confused him.

"Anyway, damage after I activate it is reduced to 0!" he explained, "He's still in this..." Aito said amazed, he honestly thought he was a gonna lose.

"I end my turn with a face-down!" she said as the card appeared then faded. "With it ending, Holly Angel's ATK returns to normal..." she said, **3200 = 2000** (Holly Angel) "So does Conductor's ATK!" Codebuster added. **2600 = 1600** (Voltage Conductor)

"Even if you still survived, it's clear to everyone who gonna win this! Right folks!" she asked the audience, with them cheering "Blue Angel!" as the victor to them. "They sure do jump to conclusions humans do..." Ai muttered, "That's just humans for you, we like to know what going to happen, but we never do..." Yusaku muttered back, making Shoichi nod. "Now let's see how he gets out of this." Shoichi said.

Blue Angel's Hand x 1

 **Turn 4**

" _Great… Some corner I've gotten myself into..._ " Codebuster thought, as he soared along, something was bugging him about the duel, not with the cards, but with his opponent, he then soared to be even with her, with her looking at him.

"Something wrong? Or are you just wanting to give up?" she mocked lightly, "Why are you wanting so much attention for?" he asked, and this threw her off guard and trip over her own feet, "What?!" she whispered out, like he had uncovered something about her.

"Nevermind, I'll ask you after I win..." he muttered zooming along, "My turn!" he said "I draw!" he drew his card, he flipped it and saw what it was, " _Damn!_ " he thought, as what he drew was Weirdware Restoration Plant, it was a good card, but not in this situation.

"Unless..." he muttered, he had a card in his Extra Deck that could help him, but he was hoping to save it for when he Duelled Playmaker. "I now activate the Field Spell, Weirdware Restoration Plant!" he said, playing the card he drew.

"Now all Weirdware Link Monsters gain 500 ATK for every monster they point to!" he explained, (Virus Buster) **1900 + 500 = 2400**.

"Then I activate the Spell, Weirdware Imprint!" he said, with the card appearing on the field, the image it had was that of Rewire's soul, going into a new monster, most likely a Weirdware monster.

"Now appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he yelled, causing the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters!" he said.

"I now set the Link 2 Virus Buster and Link 2 Voltage Conductor in the Link Markers!" he said, this caused his two Link Monsters to turn into energy beams of their colours, and each then split, the two from Virus Buster hit the Middle Top and Middle Bottom, while Voltage Conductor's hit the Bottom Left and Bottom Right, turning them red.

"4 Link Markers!?" Blue Angel said shocked, as were many others, "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 4! Weirdware Terabyte Trojan!" he yelled, with this causing the Link Portal to enlarge, to make room for the monster to get out of it.

Now appearing was a new Weirdware monster, which was a humanoid at the top, but had the lower body like that of a centaur. The colour scheme was brass yellow and orange. It had two sets of arms, the upper set, were large and bulky which had three thick triangular fingers, that were hollow and barrel like, they were closed together at the moment, to make the hands look like blasters, which they were. The lower set had actual hands, with the digits being sharp, and carried in each hand was a mace like weapon, on one end of each was a silver spike. For it's legs, the rear set had 3 silver talon claws on each foot, where as the front set only had two of these. For it's head in was elongated at the back, and the black screen had 4 purple eyes, two above the other two, on either side of it's was what appeared to look like horns, but they were actually turrets. It was Summoned to the Left Extra Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Terabyte Trojan: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2800 LINK/-4, LMs:** ↙⬆⬇↘

"That monster looks awesome..." Aito muttered, his mouth a gap in happiness. "Trojan's effect!" Codebuster said, "For every Link Monster used to Link Summon it, it gains 400 ATK!" he said, Terabyte Trojan's ATK: **2800 + 800 = 3600**

"Then Restoration's effect!" he said, "Once per turn, when I Link Summon a Weirdware Link Monster using Weirdware Link Monsters, I can Special Summon those monsters to a Main Monster Zone the new one points to!" he explained.

"I Summon back the two that were used as Link Material!" he said, as Virus Buster appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone, while Voltage Conductor was now in the Left Main Monster Zone, back in the same Zones, but now Trojan pointed to them.

"Then Trojan gains 500 ATK for everyone monster it points to, along with Virus Buster!" he said, **3600 + 1000 = 4600** (Terabyte Trojan), **1900 + 500 = 2400** (Virus Buster)

"Then I set a card!" he said as card appeared face-down in the last Spell and Trap Zone he had left. "Battle! Trojan now attacks Holly Angel!" he ordered, with this making Trojan bring its upper set of fingers together, with energy gathering in the barrels of them.

"Now so fast! I tribute Lilybell..." she said as Lilybell burst into particles, "To activate the Trap, Trickstar Abyss Alysumm!" she said, "This card remains face-up until the end of the turn!" she said, "Now until the end of the turn I activate this card, I can banish 1 card for as many Trickstar monsters I control!" she said, "First I banish Gift of Greed!" she said, her Duel Disk told her it was now banished.

"This then let's me inflict 200 damage to you for every face-up Trickstar card in control!" she said, as a pink beam struck out of the Trap, and made it's way over to Codebuster. "Conductor's effect!" Codebuster yelled, as Blue Angel expected this. With this the damage he would've taken was reduced to 0.

"Then Conductor gains 1000 ATK!" he said, **1600 + 1000 = 2600** (Voltage Conductor) "I knew you'd do that, so now I banish Lilybell, to inflict another 600 damage to you!" she said.

Her strategy was genius, she would try and get just enough damage into him, just to make sure he was still clinging in, then she would activate her Skill, and this combined with Lycoris, would ensure her victory…

That was her plan, but- "Trojan's burrowed effect from Conductor!" he said, shocking her, "What?!" she screamed out, "If you wondering how Trojan gained Conductor's effect, it's thanks to Imprint's effect!" he said.

"The Weirdware Link Monster that used Weirdware Link Monsters as Material gain their effects for the rest of the turn!" he said, this caused one of Trojan's charging cannons to stop, and then absorbed the second beam from Alysumm, "Then I make Virus Buster gain 1000 ATK!" he said, **2400 + 1000 = 3400** (Virus Buster)

"Then I activate Trojan's second burrowed effect from Conductor!" he said, "When a monster it points to gains ATK, I can inflict the differences in its current and original ATK onto you as damage!" he explained shocking her.

The arm cannon that absorbed the beam, then shot a red beam at Blue Angel. "The difference is 1500!" he added, as the beam hit her, **2700 - 1500 = 1200** (Blue Angel) "The battle continues!" he said, "Not so fast again! I activate my Skill, Trickstar Fraud!" she said as her pink parts of her clothing glowed.

"I send 1 Trickstar card in my Hand to the Graveyard!" she said sending the Cardina she added with Lilybell's effect, "Then you must draw until you have 3 cards!" she said, shocking him, he then drew 3 cards, but kept his surprise at one of the cards he drew.

"Now Lycoris deals you 200 damage for every card you added to your Hand!" she said smiling, as Lycoris pointed her sword at Codebuster, "Then Light Stage will deal you another 200 damage!" she added, as a beam from the Field shot out, and combined with the one from Lycoris.

"It's over!" she said smirking, "It is... For you that is!" he said making her gasp, his eyes shadowed out by his helmet, "You just gave me the card I needed." he said grinning, what he said confused her.

"From my Hand I activate the effect of Weirdware Filter!" he said revealing the card. "When I'm about to take damage from an effect, I can reveal this card..." he said revealing the card, "That damage becomes 0" he said as the beam suddenly dissipated right before it hit him. "Then Filter is Special Summoned!" he said.

This caused a water blue Weirdware monster to appear, it was rather small, and round, it didn't have arms or legs, but in place of these were cylindrical canisters, with silver vents on them, there were filters, it had camera lens for an eye, it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Filter: WATER, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/** 400

"No way..." she said stunned, that she gave him the chance the get that card. Now there was nothing she could do, "Trojan's effect!" he said, "Since it points to at least one monster, any monster it battles loses ATK equal to the original ATK of one monster its points to!" he said.

"I'll pick Conductor, so Holly Angel loses 1600 ATK!" **2000 – 1600 = 400** (Holly Angel) With this the beams from Trojan's upper arms finally finished charging and were released and struck the Angel down, she screamed as she was destroyed, taking the rest of Blue Angel's LP. **1200 – 4200 = 0** (Blue Angel)

Codebuster: **WINS**

Blue Angel: **LOSE**

"Unbelievably folks! Codebuster, after stopping so much effect damage, has come out the victor!" the MC cheered, making everyone cheer, having watched an amazing duel.

"So that's a strategy of his, double his monster's effects..." Yusaku said, "A dangerous strategy for his opponents..." Ai said, agreeing with him on that was a strategy.

With the Duel now over, the audience started to disperse, with Codebuster and Blue Angel, they were now back were they started. "What an amazing Duel!" she said, "Thanks, you were a tough opponent..." he said, rubbing his neck, the damage he was dealt from those effects were actually pretty painful.

She ignored it, as she then thought back to what he said just before he drew his card, "What did you mean? That I need attention?" she asked. "Oh..." he slowly said, "Well… Everyone has a reason for doing something… Go duels for fame and money, but the money he gets goes to an orphanage." he said, "I Duel for money, but its too help a close friend of mine." he said, not naming Aito.

"Playmaker duels to fight off Hanoi..." he added, "But you… What do you duel for besides attention?..." he asked, and this made her go quiet, "I don't have to answer that!" she defensively said.

"Alright… Just try and think of another reason to duel, beside attention..." he said, but stopped when he heard a wail from something, he quickly turned behind him, where he stared into the dark abyss of the construction area, the origin of the wail, "What's wrong?" she asked. But he didn't reply… as he was busy listening for the wail

"Did you not hear that?" he asked, "Hear what?" she asked confused, "I heard something in there… it was like wailing..." he said, "I didn't hear a thing..." she said, worried for him, even if he did beat her. "Hmm, maybe my tech is bugging out..." he said, "I'm off now. See Ya!" he waved goodbye

With that said, he quickly logged out. "Hmph! Who is he to decide what I should duel for!" she huffed out, "Blue Angel! That was amazing!" Frog said, as he and Pigeon had been following them the entire time.

"But listen, now that's it over, call us over if Playmaker shows up..." he said, then with that, Pigeon flew them off to somewhere else. With this, she was left to herself, giving her the feeling of her real life.

"What an amazing Duel! Such a shame that Playmaker hasn't shown up!" a voice to her left said, she looked in that direction and saw someone approaching from the construction area, this man wasn't there before, so she thought he was hiding all this time.

What he wore was a white business suit, that sort of reminded her of the Knights of Hanoi, at this she became defensive, "Who are you? A Knight of Hanoi?" she asked, but he didn't answer.

"Hello. Duelling world's idol, Blue Angel." the man said, he then suddenly started to move forward, but his feet didn't move an inch to do this, he quickly made his way over to her, and from her perspective, the area got darker, and the man got bigger. He suddenly passed right through her, turning into data, shocking her.

Your passion towards Playmaker. As well as your skills against Codebuster…" he said, as he suddenly appeared to her right, she saw, and tried to move back, he suddenly appeared behind her. "… has deeply impressed me." he finished as she turned to face him.

"I'm a fan of yours." he said "A passionate fan." he added, "Stop! You're obviously lying!" she said, "I'm not lying." he said, as he suddenly appeared underneath… this caused her to close her legs, "All I want, is just for you to defeat Playmaker." he said, getting bigger.

With this, he appeared behind her, materialised a dark purple card in his hand, and threw it at her back, she heard it whizzed towards her, turned to meet it, but it hit her. "That card will open a door deep within your heart. A key that frees your hidden desires." he said.

"Good luck." he said, and with that, he receded backwards, fading out as he did, with him gone, her view went back to normal, unaware of the changes in her Duel Disk or Deck. She spaced out, "What… Am I doing here?" she asked herself… She couldn't for the live of her, remember what just took place… if anything even took place.

"I better go, Brother will be ringing soon..." she said, then logged out…

* * *

 **Hanoi's base (5 minutes later)**

"I must say Spectre, that was quite the performance." Vire hissed out, "Thank you." he said, then turned to Revolver, "I hope this plans out like you hope Master." he said, "Hopefully, if she can put Codebuster on the ropes, forcing him to bring out a strong monster, she must be good, Codebuster may be equal or stronger than Playmaker. And this Duel will determine that." Revolver said.

"And should she fail, we have a back up plan ready..." he said, looking at the virus removal program, at this Talon scowled, "What's bugging you now?" he asked turning to Talon, "Its just… that Blue Angel reminds me of my sister… before the incident." he muttered.

"If you knew her real identity, it may help you get over that small fact..." he said, bring up a holopad, which Talon read from, "Zaizen's little sister?!" Talon suddenly growled out, he knew for a fact that name was associated with SOL, his view on them using Blue Angel quickly shifted.

"That's better..." he said, then turned back to Spectre, "By the way..." he said, "Did you happen to hear anything where you were?" he asked, "Are you meaning what Codebuster must have heard? No." Spectre replied, he was just as confused, when Codebuster glanced back at his direction, nearly blowing his cover as he approached them.

"He said he heard something wailing, like that of a monster maybe?" he said to himself, "Speaking of a monster..." Vire muttered, making everyone look at him that was in the room, which was of course Revolver, Spectre, Ares, Valcry and Talon.

"During my Duel against Playmaker, he and the Ignis talked about something involving the Data Storm, which happened to be a monster, that seemed to have attacked them before." he said.

"Really? A monster?" Valcry asked, she knew that the Data Storm contained unknown monsters, but she didn't think that they could do anything. "Yes… And because of that..." Vire said, bring up a map, which seemed to have weather patterns, but they were for Data Storms.

"I've gone through the frequency of the Data Storms… notice anything about these three?..." he asked grinning, as three individual data screen enlarged, "These were all during Playmaker's Duels..." Revolver answered.

"Yes… and if you see closely..." he said, then brought up a video for each Data Storm, that was active during Playmaker's Duel, then brought up a smaller video of Playmaker during his Duels, the second his LP hit 1000 or less…

"They're moving?" Ares said, as they all watched as the Data Storms in the videos start to move, heading towards Playmaker. "Correct." Vire said, "So the monster is also strong enough to control the direction of a Data Storm." Revolver muttered.

"What could this mean for us?" Spectre asked, "Nothing… I have no use for this monster, If it can do this, I don't want something that could rebel against me..." Revolver said, "Continue this study… if you'd like to." he said to Vire.

"Yes sir..." he said bowing, "I believe that is all for now..." he said, then he logged out, "Still, if we did have that monster, it could turn the tide for us..." Ares said to himself, then he to logged out…

"Later..." Valcry huffed out, she also logged out, "Same!" Talon said, also leaving, "And what of you Vire?" Spectre asked, "I'm going to stay a bit longer, try and figure out a way to catch this beast from the Data Storm." he answered.

"Alright, bye for now." Spectre said, logging out, just leaving Vire to himself, he then closed everything he had showed them, but left one video up, it was from Playmaker's Duel against him, and was focused on the Data Storm approaching.

He suddenly paused it, as he suddenly caught glimpse of something with the Data Storm, a dark shadow on the side, "What are you…?" he said to himself…

* * *

 **Den City High School, the next day, (7:56 AM)**

It was the following morning of Blue Angel vs Codebuster, and the students were still talking about it, within the crowd was Yusaku, just minding his own business, but was also worried for Aito, who hadn't shown up today.

" _I guess he's still suffering from his panic attack_ " he surmised in his head, "Sigh… This is worse than I thought." Ai muttered, "What?" he asked the AI, "You're getting hammered on the net." it explained, going through all the comments on the Playmaker fan page… Where the fans were technically no longer fans at the moment.

"Is Playmaker a chicken? Disappointed he didn't except the challenge. A true Duelist accepts all challenges." it read out in different pitches, hoping to annoy his friend/ally/captor. "Also one about 'At least Codebuster was man enough for Playmaker!'." it added.

"That's enough." Yusaku said, slightly irritated, "Oh my! Are you mad?" it said, "You actually care!" it added, looking sly as it said this, "Are you feeling hurt-" it went to say, but then Aoi Zaizen approached from Yusaku's left. "Quiet! She's here." he whispered to him.

When the two meet, they stopped, "Yusaku Fujiki right? Good morning." Aoi said, "Y-Yeah. Good morning..." he said back, lowering his arm, allowing Ai to see the, to him 'hot dumb AI', "Hey new model! How goes it?" it asked.

"Humph! Stop acting like we're friends!" her AI yelled out, it's response shocked the Ignis, " _Huh? It didn't act like this yesterday… Somethings off here..._ " it thought suspiciously, "How's Aito?" Aoi asked, as the two started to walk again.

"He had calmed down after a while, then his sister's room-mate came and picked him..." Yusaku explained, this suddenly made him think back to the guy that came, " _Matoyia Guriddo… are you really Codebuster?_ " he thought, but then he suddenly snapped out of it, he had something to do right now, seeing that he had an opportunity.

"Why did you join the Duel Club yesterday?" Aoi suddenly asked, before he could ask his question, "Because..." he went to say… nothing really, he had no intention to join the Club… he blamed Shima for that.

"Don't say it's because you love to Duel." she quickly said, sounding a but annoyed, "What Shima said yesterday about your brother..." he went to ask, "Heh! You too, huh?" she said, confusing him.

"Can I get the new Duel Disk first? Or "Can I get a job at SOL when I graduate?" she said, "Those are the only reasons people approach me." she added, "I..." he went to say again, "Don't even try." she snapped out quickly, stopping.

"My brother doesn't trust me..." she said, this time sadden, instead of annoyance. And with that last comment she suddenly ran off, leaving him behind, "What was that about?" AnDru Plast said approaching from behind.

"AnDru Plast. Good morning." he quickly said turning to greet the guy… as well as his sister and their friend Ayano, "What's with her?" AnDra asked, "No idea?" Yusaku lied, "Well, anyways, what did you think of the Duel yesterday?" AnDru asked.

"It was alright..." he answered, being truthful, and it also gave him insight into a strategy of Codebuster's, "That Terabyte Trojan was amazing!" AnDra cheered, throwing her hands into the air, "You said it… Such a shame Playmaker didn't duel Blue Angel..." Ayano said.

"Yeah..." AnDru said, a bit duller, as by mentioning both, he quickly thought back to his Duel against that hacker guard, taking that damage still bugged him, but Codebuster and Playmaker seemed fine when they took damage… At least mentally.

"Something wrong?" Yusaku asked, while he may not be able to tell if someone is troubled emotionally, he could at least tell by facial expressions. "N-Nothing. See ya in class." AnDru said, then he too ran off a head.

"Hey, wait up!" his sister and Ayano yelled in unison, running after them, "Hey Yusaku, I need to talk to you about-" Ai tried to respond, "Be quiet!" he suddenly said, ticking the Ignis off, "Fine! Suit yourself." it huffed out...

* * *

 **Café Haru, (10:34 PM)**

"Closed?" Mars said, in his usual attire, seeing that he had the day off, he decided to visit Asuka and Matoyia, but the sign on the locked door said otherwise, " _Strange… They're usually open at this hour, and day as well..._ " he added in his head.

He then brought out his phone and dialled a number, a few moments later, the other side picked up, "Hello?" the voice of one Matoyia Guriddo answered, "Hey Matoyia, listen, I'm outside of the Café, but its closed..." he said staring at the building.

"Hold on, I'll be right down..." Matoyia said, then quickly hanged up, leaving him to himself, a few minutes later, he saw Matoyia come out the back, meaning he came from upstairs, he unlocked the front door, and locked it behind him.

"What's up?" he asked, "Not much. So why is the Café closed?" Mars asked, "Oh..." Matoyia said slowly, "Can we go somewhere?" he said, "Sure. Where to?" he asked, he said he wanted to go to the plaza. And so they made their way there, in which he told him what happened yesterday.

"Aito had a panic attack!?" Mars shouted, clearly shocked, he had meet the young boy, to him he seemed normal, a bit quiet, but he just played that off, "He still hasn't recovered properly, so Asuka decided to shut the shop down until he's better, so she can take care of him." he said.

"What about you?" he asked, "It was my day off, but I decided to help Asuka with Aito, but then you called, so she sent me away..." he told him, "Oh..." Mars said, the rest of their walk they walked silence.

When they made it to the plaza, they found a vacant bench to sit down, "So what did you think of the Duel yesterday?" Matoyia asked, "Not bad… It was a good show." Mars answered truthfully, he had found the Duel impressive, more so on Codebuster's side, Blue Angel basically did what she always did, which was kind off boring to him.

"That new Link Monster he summoned was impressive, not many can get out a Link 4 monster." Matoyia said, "It would be interesting if Blue Angel adapted her style, Codebuster knew she would just spam damage after damage after-" Mars said, but then noticed his friend seems off a bit.

"Hey Mars..." Matoyia said, "Yeah?" he said confused, wondering where this was going, "Do you ever wonder what she Duels for? Blue Angel I mean." he asked, "Just attention probably, but maybe she has another reason for it, one the people just don't know about..." Mars answered truthfully, he didn't really do a search up on Blue Angel, Spectre did that, and all he knew from him was that she was Akira Zaizen's little sister.

"Still nobody is that selfish to Duel just for attention, Go donates his winnings to the orphanage he grew up in, he told me that..." Matoyia lied, not that Mars knew, "Playmaker fights off Hanoi, for some sort of grudge I guess..." he added, making Mars wonder why was Playmaker targeting Hanoi.

"Codebuster… Well no one knows what he Duels for besides money…" he finished, "At least he's not Blood Shepard..." Mars muttered, with Matoyia agreeing with him on that. "I wouldn't worry about it for now… Let her do what she wants..." Mars said, "I guess. Still bugs me though..." he said…

…

…

"So what now?" Matoyia asked, "Hmm… VR Royale?" Mars suggested, "You played that too?" he asked, "Yeah, so what do you say, go back to my place and just go in?" he said, "Sure. I've got my Duel Disk…" Matoyia said back as they both got up, and made his way to his place.

And just in the distant, like a few yards away from the bench they sat on was Cafe Nagi, where Shoichi saw them walk off, " _ ***Phew***_ _I thought he had tracked us down..._ " Shoichi thought, as yesterday after Yusaku finished school, he told him what happened that day.

Like how he believed that Aito Haru, the friend he had made, was another victim of the Lost Incident, and that he may have found out who Codebuster was in real life, he gave a name, Matoyia Guriddo, so he did a search to find out who he looked like, just in case he appeared out of nowhere.

" _Still who was that with him?_ " he thought, looking at the taller man of the pair walking off, "I feel like I've seen him from somewhere." he muttered to himself, trying to recollect…

* * *

 **Den City High School, (13:57 PM)**

Lunchtime had just about finished, so Yusaku, like many others was now back in his Classroom. As he walked up to his seat, "Hold up!" Ai shouted slightly, luckily not drawing attention to him or Yusaku, "Idiot! You're too loud!" Yusaku whispered to the AI, "A Knight of Hanoi has appeared!" it said to him. "What?" he said back.

He then quickly turned around, bumping past AnDru, "Hey! Where are you going?" he asked, as many people turned to Yusaku as he left, "I remembered that I left my Notepad in the Library." he said back as he left the room.

"But he hardly uses his Notepad..." he muttered suspiciously...

* * *

Within Aoi's class, they had just started about 5 minutes ago, "The relationship between the lens of a cat's eye and quantum mechanical algorithms..." the teacher droned on, Aoi who was taking notes, suddenly received a call.

She picked it up and saw she got a text… from- " _I'll duel you right now – Playmaker_ _._ " she read in her head, "… was advocated by German physicist Professor Werner in 1974-" the teacher said but stopped as Aoi raised her hand.

"I don't feel so well. Can I go to the infirmary?" she asked, "Oh sure..." the teacher said, then she lefted just as quickly….

* * *

Back with Yusaku, who had made a quick route to the Library, to ensure people who saw him go in there would believe his alibi, was now in the Duel Club room, which was empty aside from him.

"Deck Set!" he yelled placing his Deck into his Duel Disk, "Into the VRAINS!" he said as the sphere enveloped him… as this happened, on the roof, a similar sphere was enveloping Aoi, who was knelt down…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (5 minutes later)**

Now just walking about was Playmaker looking for the Knight Ai talked about, "Where is the Knight of Hanoi? These are the correct coordinates right?" he said to Ai, but froze when he spotted her, Blue Angel, above on a building top.

"Blue Angel!? What are you doing here?" he asked, thinking she must have tricked him into coming like Go did with his disguise, "So you finally made your decision to challenge me." she said, confusing him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "Enough! Stop playing dumb." she said back, "Playing dumb?" he said confused, "You're the one who invited me here." she explained, surprising him, "But I-" he went to say, but then looked down at Ai.

"Is this your doing?" he asked, "Yep!" it said happily, "You lied and tricked me!?" he yelled annoyed, "Why would I lie to you, there is a Knight of Hanoi… right in front of you!" it yelled, shocking Playmaker at who it was referring to, the only person other than him here, Blue Angel.

"Even though it's faint, I sense Hanoi's influence in Aoi Zaizen's Deck." it explained, "I tried to tell you, but you were angry that she left-" it said, "Quiet." he shouted at his Duel Disk, "But why would she join Hanoi for?" he asked, "Who knows. They could be using her to get to you. But all I know is that you need to defeat her, after all, you said you'd defeat all of Hanoi." it said.

"Fine! I accept your challenge now!" he shouted to her, playing along for now, "Then let's begin!" she cheered, her mood instantly changing, at this a stream of Data flew by, their D-boards then appeared, each jumping onto their own one…

* * *

 **VR Royale…**

"Take 'em out!" a player ordered and they and their friends tried to charge at a group, this group only had two people, which was both Matoyia and Mars, dressed in combat armour, Matoyia armed with his trusty sniper rifle, and Mars was just throwing grenades left and right.

"There's too many!" Mars roleplayed, which many people did, as was the purpose for the game, "Just keep throw-" Matoyia went to shout back, but his Duel Disk beeped, along with Mars's and everyone else's.

"Time out!" one of the enemies said, everyone agreed and checked their Duel Disk's having received a text. "Blue Angel vs Playmaker is about to start!?" a random player screamed excited, causing the others to get excited.

"What do you want to do?" Mars asked his friend, "I say we get out and watch properly..." he answered, then turned to the people that were shooting at them before, "Let's come back to this." he said to them, and they nodded, and instantly everyone logged out…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS…**

"C'mon, everybody!" the MC cheered, making the crowd stop to watch as the large screen on the outside displayed Blue Angel and Playmaker on their D-Boards. "A Duel for the century, Blue Angel vs Playmaker is about to finally begin! Yeah!" he cheered.

"Blue Angel has already duelled Codebuster, and while she still lost, it was an amazing Duel none the less." he added, this excited them, all except for Shoichi who was shocked at this. "Yusaku! Why is he Dueling Blue Angel for?" he asked himself, then went to shut up shop to help his friend, but was stopped by a gathering line of people.

"Excuse me? 1 Hot dog, small fires and a coffee please." a woman asked, "Same!" the person behind her asked, "Y-Yes. Coming right up!" he quickly said, and then started to cook for them.

* * *

Back in Mars's apartment, both he and Matoyia were sitting down of Mars's sofa and watching on his large tv. "This is gonna be good." Mars said smirking, "Still wonder why Playmaker agreed to Duel her now?" Matoyia asked himself, as he discreetly activates his Drone from his Duel Disk, to record the play by play for later. "Probably Codebuster maybe..." the first said back, " _Now let's see if she can be useful..._ " Mars thought grinning.

"Speed Duel!" the two they were watching shouted, drawing four cards each…

Blue Angel's LP: **4000**

Playmaker's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Okay! Here I go, everyone!" Blue Angel cheered out, ""My turn!" she yelled, taking the first turn.

"I activate the Field Spell, Trickstar Light Stage from my Hand!" she said, waving her hand over the card, "Ah! The card she used against Codebuster!" Ai said, "Quiet." Playmaker said, "When activated, I can add 1 Trickstar monster from my Deck to my Hand!" she said, as the card she choose was added to her Hand.

"Now since I added it to my Hand instead of drawing it, I can Special Summon it! Appear! Trickstar Lilybell!" she said as Lilybell appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Trickstar Lilybell: LIGHT, Level: 2 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/** 2000

With that she took a pause, " _Are you watching Brother..._ " she thought with hope, " _Unlike my Duel against Codebuster, I promise to win against Playmaker._ " she added looking back at Playmaker.

"Now I Normal Summon Trickstar Cardina!" she said, as Cardina appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Trickstar Cardina: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 400

* * *

" _Is she going with the same strategy she used against me?_ " Matoyia thought bored, she could at least do something new for someone like Playmaker. Mars shook his head, "Will she ever learn, she's as clear as glass with her strategy..." he muttered, also bored, hopefully Playmaker would make the Duel interesting...

* * *

"When Normal Summon, her effect activates and let's me add 1 Trickstar card from my Deck to my Hand!" she said as another card was added to her Hand.

"But hold on now! I'm still not done!" she said, "I now activate Lycoris's effect from my Hand!" she yelled out, "I return Cardina back to my Hand and Special Summon her!" she said as Cardina returned to her Hand and Lycoris appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Trickstar Lycoris: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/** 1600 **DEF/1200**.

"Now next up is the Spell, Trickstar Vision!" she said with a wink as she held the card, "I can Special Summon Cardina from my Hand by negating her effects and halving her ATK!" she said Cardina's appeared back in the Right Main Monster Zone. Cardina's ATK: **1800 = 900**.

"And then we both draw a card!" she added, drawing her card, then Playmaker drew his, which made her smile, "If you watched yesterday, then you should know that my Trickstars are about to put on a show for everyone!" she said.

"Lycoris's effect! Since you added a card to your Hand, she deals 200 damage for every card you added!" she said as Lycoris waved her sword at Playmaker, shooting at beam at him, making him flinch. Playmaker's LP: **4000 – 200 = 3800**.

"And then Light Stage's effect!" she added, "Since a Trickstar monster dealt you damage, you take another 200 damage!" she cheered, as a green beam from the Field Spell hit him as well. **3800 – 200 = 3600** (Codebuster)

"She's whittling us away like she did Codebuster." Ai said, "And now that everyone is here! I'm going all out for today!" she cheered, "Already?" Playmaker said, as he knew what card she was about to bring out.

"Come out! The Circuit of dreams of hope!" she shouted, as sparks flew from her hand, shot into the air, causing the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Trickstar monsters!" she said.

"I now set Lilybell and Cardina in the Link Markers!" she said with her two monster turning into twisters, Lilybell hit the Bottom Left, while Cardina the Bottom Right, turning them red. "Circuit Combine!" she yelled.

* * *

As this happened, Akira was watching from work, "Why is she rebelling against me?" he said to himself, while Damien watched by his side, internally smirking, just waiting for the virus in Blue Angel to be released.

* * *

"Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Trickstar Holly Angel!" she shouted as Holly Angel now appeared from the Portal, and travelled with her, she was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Blue Angel's right.

 **Trickstar Holly Angel: LIGHT [Fairy/Link/Effect] ATK/2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

" _She went with the right one this time..._ " Matoyia thought, "I then set two cards face-down and end my turn!" she said waving her hand over the last cards in her card, that then appeared bigger on the field, then faded.

Blue Angel's Hand x 0

 **Turn 2**

"You're up Playmaker!" she said, "Now I can really show you why my Trickstars are so charming!" she added with a wink to him, "My turn! I draw!" Playmaker shouted drawing his card.

"Due to Lycoris's effect, each time you add a card to your Hand, you take 200 damage!" she said as Lycoris aimed her sword at Playmaker, who was hit by another beam. **3600 – 200 = 3400** (Playmaker) "Then Light Stage's effect!" she added, another beam hit him, **3400 – 200 = 3200** (Playmaker)

"And then Holly Angel's effect! Since a Trickstar monster's effect dealt you damage, she gains ATK equal to that damage!" she explained, but he already knew from yesterday. Holly Angel's ATK: **2000 + 200 = 2200**.

"She sure acts all cute and innocent, but she really just pokes and pokes." Ai said, shifting his eye left and right. "This is the same strategy she used against Codebuster yesterday, she slowly shaves away at the opponent's LP, while Angel's ATK increases." Playmaker said to himself.

"I Normal Summon Draconnet from my Hand!" he said, as Draconnet appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone with a cry.

 **Draconnet: DARK, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 1200

"When Draconnet is Normal Summoned, its effect let's me Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Normal monster from my Hand or Deck in Defense!" he said as card ejected from his Deck, "I Summon Bitron!" he said, placing the card he got onto his blade, making Bitron appear in the Right Main Monster with a cute cry.

 **Bitron: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Normal] ATK/** 200 **DEF/2000**

"Here I go! Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" he yelled, throwing his none Duel Disk arm out, as sparks flew out of it and caused the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is 1 Normal monsters." he said.

"I now Set Bitron in the Link Markers!" he said as Bitron turned into a twister and hit the Middle Bottom, turning it red. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 1! Link Spider!" he shouted as Link Spider emerged from a cluster of red energy, and was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to his right.

 **Link Spider: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Now for Link Spider's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal monster from my Hand to the Zone that it points to!" he said, "I Summon a second Bitron!" he said as a second Bitron appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone again in Defense.

* * *

"He seems to have a recurring strategy..." Matoyia pointed out, as Mars agreed, already thinking of away to deal with it, should he come to face Playmaker.

* * *

"Arrowheads confirmed!" Playmaker yelled, "The Summoning conditions are 2 Cyberse monsters!" he said, "Again!?" Blue Angel cried out, getting a sense of deja vu from her Duel with Codebuster.

"I set Draconnet and second Bitron in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters headed straight for the Link Markers around the Portal, Bitron hit the Middle Left, and Draconnet the Middle Top, turning them red.

"Link Summon! Appear Link 2! Link Bumper!" he shouted as Link Bumper appeared and was placed in the Right Main Monster Zone that Spider pointed to.

 **Link Bumper: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1400 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬆

"Arrowheads confirmed again!" he said causing the Link Portal to appear again, shocking most, except for the Knights of Hanoi watching, both in VRAINS and outside of it, along with Matoyia and AnDru at school, who was next to Naoki watching the Duel.

"You know what's coming out right?" Mars asked, "Yep! Decode Talker time!" Matoyia joked, "The Summoning conditions are at least 2 Effect Monsters!" Playmaker said, "I set the Link 1 Link Spider and Link 2 Link Bumper in the Link Markers!" he said as the two Link Monsters turned into twisters, with Bumper's splitting into two. These two hit the Bottom Left and Bottom Right and Spider the Middle Top.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Decode Talker!" he yelled as his ace Link Monster appeared in the Extra Monster that Link Spider was in before.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

" _I can't wait to crush that monster..._ " Mars thought smirking at the thought of destroying the Code Talker, if he Duelled Playmaker that is.

"Battle! Decode Talker attacks Holly Angel!" he ordered as Decode summoned his sword and charged at the Trickstar Link Monster.

"Not gonna happen! I activate the Trap, Trickstar Reincarnation!" Blue Angel yelled, shocking Playmaker as her face-down card flipped up, "Now all cards in your Hand are banished!" she said, shocking Playmaker, but some people could tell something was off with this.

Playmaker's entire Hand burst into particles, "Then you draw cards equal to the number of banished ones!" she added.

He then drew 4 cards, as that was how many that were banished, "You know what happens now. Lycoris's effect deals you 200 damage for every card you added to your Hand!" she said slyly, once again Lycoris aimed her sword at Playmaker, who was once again hit by a beam from the weapon. **3200 – 800 = 2400** (Codebuster)

" _He did that on purpose, meaning he's going for Storm Access._ " Matoyia thought, "Then Light Stage's effect!" she yelled, **2400 – 200 = 2200** (Codebuster) "Man she's really going after our LP..." Ai said, "No, she was after something else." Playmaker said.

"Then Holly Angel's effect!" she said, as Holly Angel glowed red, **2200 + 800 = 3000** (Holly Angel) "She had more ATK then Decode!" Ai yelled out in shock. "And to make it better, Decode doesn't stop attacking!" she added as Decode got closer.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Security Block!" Playmaker shouted out, "Now Decode Talker isn't destroyed in battle this turn, and no damage is dealt to either of us!" he said, as a blue shield stopped Decode's attack, who was thankful for this.

"Knew that would happen..." AnDru muttered to himself, "Too bad! I activate the Trap, Trickstar Scatter!" she said as her second face-down flipped up. "When a Trickstar monster battles, one monster you control is destroyed!" she said. A beam from the trap card shot out and hit Decode, who recoiled and then exploded, shocking everyone...

* * *

"No way! She took out Decode Talker!" Mars yelled out, with Matoyia equally shocked at this, that was the first time Decode Talker was destroyed in any way, sure Playmaker's duel against Vire had Decode leave the field, but Playmaker did that on purpose, the opponent actually managed to destroy it for once.

* * *

"So much for that…" Ai said, "Don't underestimate me." Blue Angel said, as they soared past… Unaware that a woman dress like a sort of ninja with silver and purple hair was hiding in the shadows and was watching the Duel.

"What's next? You aren't really challenging me like Codebuster did." she mocked, "Since you destroyed a Cyberse Link monster with a card effect, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand in Defense! Appear! Salvagent Driver!" Playmaker said.

Appearing now in the Middle Main Monster Zone was a biker, dressed in yellow and white and black, riding a hi-tech like motorbike as it rode the data winds.

 **Salvagent Driver: LIGHT, Level: 6 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 2200 **DEF/2100**

"I end my turn!" he said, "And that means Holly Angel's effect ends." she said back as the Trickstar Link Monster powered down, **3000 = 2000** (Holly Angel)

Playmaker's Hand x 2

 **Turn 3**

"She sure is putting pressure on us." Ai whispered, "Nevermind that, do you sense it? Hanoi's presence is getting stronger." Playmaker said.

"My turn! I draw!" she yelled drawing her card… But suddenly gasped as she felt a strange pulse of dark energy, not realising it came from the card she just drew. "What was that? Did you see that?" Matoyia asked Mars, "Yeah. But I don't know what happened." Mars said, lying about the second part. " _She just drew our card, meaning it's about to begin..._ " he thought smirking.

"That's it, Hanoi's card." Playmaker said, "I banish the Trap, Trickstar Reincarnation from my Graveyard to activate its effect!" she said shaking herself awake slightly, "This lets me Special Summon 1 Trickstar from my Graveyard!" she said.

"I chose Lilybell!" she said as Lilybell appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone on her side of the Field. "And now I'll have Lilybell attack you directly with her effect!" she said as Lilybell rang her bell at Playmaker, pushing him back with the shock waves, he screamed as he fell of his board. **2200 – 800 = 1** **4** **00** (Playmaker)

"Then Light Stage deals you 200 damage!" she added, **1** **4** **00 – 200 =** **1** **2** **00** (Playmaker) "Ah! I'm falling!" Ai screamed, not caring that Playmaker was also falling… Selfish. As he fell, Playmaker suddenly grabbed onto a ledge, stopping his fall, his D-Board however kept going, which made him shot a beam from his hand and connect to his board, making him appear back on it.

"Now since Lilybell dealt you damage, her effect let's me add 1 Trickstar monster from my Graveyard to my Hand." she said looking back at Playmaker first, then doing just that.

"Then I end my turn!" she added, with a wink.

Blue Angel's Hand x 2

 **Turn 4**

"She didn't play the card from Hanoi? Why?" Ai said, "Is it strategy? Or is it… That's she still in control perhaps?" Playmaker said, "My turn! I draw!" he said drawing his card. "Lycoris's effect! You take 200 damage for every card you add to your Hand!" she said back to him. **1200 – 200 = 1000** (Playmaker)

"Now his LP is 1000!" Matoyia said, shocking Mars at what this meant, "Light Stage's effect!" she shouted, **1000 – 200 = 800** (Playmaker)

* * *

Back in Hanoi's base, a screen with a Data Storm was shown, as Revolver kept it up, as he wanted to confirm Vire's theory, which turned out to be correct as the second Playmaker's LP reached 1000, the Data Storm on the screen started to move to Playmaker's location, "What monster could be strong enough to do that?" Revolver asked himself.

* * *

"And then Holly Angel's ATK increases!" she said, **2000 + 200 = 2200** (Holly Angel)

At this she was smiling " _Are you watching Brother? I can win this!_ " she thought looking back at Playmaker, who seemed to be panicked, " _He can't get out of this! Meaning I, Blue Angel have defeated Playmaker!_ " she thought.

* * *

As this happened, Akira watched, suddenly thinking back to his past, involving him and Aoi, and how he spent most of his time, trying to succeed and support the both of them, with him taking most of the blunt of any suffering the two would have taken. While he reminisced, Damien watched the Duel.

" _She seems to be fine, she didn't use our card, but it should at least be affecting her..._ " Damien thought, he looked back at Akira who was still unfocused, " _If he notices anything off with her, he may try and stop the Duel..._ " he added, then typed into his notepad. " _Well he can't now!_ " he thought grinning as he had just disabled any chance of the operators from interfering.

* * *

Back to the Duel, Playmaker was just watching Blue Angel, for any sign of a problem, a problem did show up, in the way she was now standing, a bit hunched and looked a bit weak, to her, she thought her two cards were spinning around each other. Then she started to shake on the D-Board.

"She acting off, Hanoi's card must be getting to her." Playmaker said, "What's wrong with her?" Matoyia asked as he noticed that Blue Angel was now shaking on her D-Board.

"I Normal Summon Defect Complier!" Playmaker said as a small device like monster appeared, in looked somewhat like his Duel Disk, but it was grey in colour, and there was a card slot part at the bottom, and on the top appeared to be an aerial of some sorts. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Defect Complier: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/DEF: 1000/** 1000

"Then I activate Salvagent Driver's effect!" he said, "By discarding a Spell from my Hand, I can Special Summon a Cyberse from my Graveyard!" he said, "Resurrect Link Bumper!" he said as a cable from Salvagent Driver's motorbike shot backwards, created a dark portal and pulled Link Bumper out, who was placed in the Left Main Monster Zone.

This caused Blue Angel to snap out of her trance, "I'm Blue Angel!" she reminded herself, while this happened a Data Storm approached, "Hey! You do remember right?" Ai asked Playmaker. "Yes. But with the risk of meeting that monster..." he said, but then looked back at Blue Angel, who appeared to be fine at the moment.

"It may be our only hope." he said, with this he springed boarded his D-Board and made it sail pass her and into the Data Storm. Now within the Data Storm, Playmaker was looking about, "It's nowhere..." he said, "Great… Either way, let's get a new card!" Ai said.

"Right!" Playmaker said as he raised his none Duel Disk arm, where Data was now gathering… But then they heard something, "Huh?" they looked around, making the data stop and disperse, suddenly they saw it, the shadow of the monster had shown up… and there appeared to be a growing ball of dark red energy gathering near what they thought was it's mouth.

"IT'S GOING TO SHOOT US!" Ai screamed as the monster finished charging it's attack and fired a huge torrent of dark red energy at them…

* * *

Back outside, Blue Angel was waiting for him to come out, her Duel Disk had told her that he was in the progress of using his Skill, "I can't believe it… He was using my effects on purpose to shave away his own LP, he wanted this to happen-" she said to herself, but was cut off when a huge beam coming from the Data Storm appeared and sliced across a district of towering buildings, a second later, they exploded, shocking everyone at this.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Naoki screamed in his classroom, "Shima! What are you screaming for?" the teacher scolded him, "S-Sorry!" he said being quiet as he watched the screen on his notepad, with AnDru shocked at what he has seen happen. " _Did Playmaker do that? And what kin_ _d_ _of monster is he trying to get?_ " he thought.

* * *

With Mars and Matoyia, both were still in shock at what they had seen, "What kind of monster can do that with one attack?" Matoyia muttered slowly, "No idea..." Mars said, as he then thought back to what Vire talked about yesterday. Just then a frenzy of beams from the Data Storm appeared, destroying the surrounding buildings with ease. " _Could it be... that monster?_ " he thought.

* * *

"What's going on?" Akira asked as the operators were now busy at work, "It seems to be coming from the Data Storm that Playmaker is currently inside, "Playmaker? Is he trying to tame the beast that he's trying to get with Storm Access?" he asked himself, while Damien watched in awe at the destruction the monster in the Data Storm was wrecking. " _Such power!_ " he thought grinning.

* * *

Back with Playmaker, who was in fact still live, having just barely dodged, and was still barely dodging the next lot of beams from the monster, "Crazy monster! This is the thanks we get for trying to free you!" Ai snapped at the shadowed monster, but all he got was a roar from it.

"Do something!" it screamed at Playmaker as the monster charged another beam, it was released… But the aim appeared to ahead of Playmaker, "It's smart enough to aim ahead!" Playmaker yelled shocked. As the beam got closer, both he and Ai closed their eyes and waited for the beam to hit…

…

…

But it never came..." Huh?" Ai said, opening it's eye, along with Playmaker and they shocked to see that a new monster, having appeared out of way, was blocking the attack with a shield. "Look! A new monster came to save us!" Ai cheered as the beam finally stopped.

"This could be good..." he said, then went back to using his Skill, where data started to gather again, but most was coming from the new monster, who was still blocking more beams from the first monster.

"Seize the winds, Playmaker!" Ai shouted, "Storm Access!" he yelled, now holding the complete, with the second monster about to vanish into the card, not before splitting the Storm apart, letting them escape, while the first monster roar and travelled away.

"Playmaker has used his Skill now!" Blue Angel's AI told her, as Playmaker landed near her, the two then tried to over take the over, but Blue Angel pushed him away.

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" Playmaker yelled, sparks flying from his hand, into the air and making the Link Portal appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Cyberse monsters!" he said.

"I now set the Link 2 Link Bumper and Salvagent Driver in the Link Markers!" he said as the monsters in question turned into twisters with Salvagent Driver hitting the Middle Bottom, Bumper's split into two, and they hit the Middle Top and Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine!" he said as yellow data started to gather, forming a new monster, "Link Summon!" he said as the data got bigger, "Appear Link 3! Encode Talker!" he said as a data frame of the new monster was created and now being filled in with colour.

Now appearing was a new Code Talker, but this one had a yellow lining on it's actual body, which was similar to Decode's, also the Armor was a pale white-blue, and the orbs on it was yellow. And in its right hand was a shield, coloured the same as the monster's armour, but had a glowing yellow cross at the centre, it also had spikes on it. It gave a warrior's cry as it was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's right. And it pointed to Defect Complier.

 **Encode Talker: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆⬇↘

"A new Code Talker!?" Matoyia yelled, while Mars did a spit take, having gotten thirsty and grabbed his drink, but was also shocked at what had just happened, " _There's more than one?!_ " Mars thought in shock, awe, and annoyance at this.

"He actually did it, This was all Playmaker's design, the entire time… That means he wasn't under any pressure, he just faked it..." she said to herself sad at this discovery.

"Battle!" Playmaker yelled, alerting her to this, "Defect Complier now attacks Lilybell!" he said as a swirling green beam from Complier made its way over to Lilybell. "Then from my Hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Frontline Disturbance!" he said. This made a screen appear on Blue Angel's Duel Disk.

"So that's what you going for! You're trying to lower Holly Angel's ATK by Lycoris's DEF of 1200, to make her become 1000." she deduced, "But won't happen, I won't lose this Duel!" she shouted determined.

"I now activate my Skill, Trickstar Fraud!" She said, "Oh no! That skill, while Lycoris is on the field!" Ai yelled, "I discard 1 Trickstar card during your turn." she said sending Cardina to the Graveyard. "And now you draw cards until you have 3!" she said.

"You have 0 cards, so draw 3!" she demanded, he then did what was asked, "You only have 800 LP, so you take 600 damage from Lycoris's effect!" she said as Lycoris then aimed her weapon and released another beam at Playmaker. "Then Light Stage deals you another 200 damage!" she added as a beam from the Field Spell shot out and joined Lycoris's one.

"I did it! I defeated Playmaker!" she cheered… A little too early, "Are you really sure about that?" he asked, shocking her, "Defect Complier's effect! Once per turn, effect damage become 0!" he said as a shield appeared over Playmaker from Complier. When the beams hit the shield, they instantly dissolved.

"Then a Defect counter is placed on Complier!" he added, Defect Complier's Counter Count (Defect): **0 + 1 = 1**. This caused a 1 to appear on Complier's screen.

"Damage… Becomes… 0..." she got out in shock, as this eerily reminder her of what Codebuster did with that Filter Weirdware monster. This angered her, "I'm not out of this yet! I still have one more card left!" she said, swiping over the card to activate it…

… This was a mistake, as a second wave of darkness hit Blue Angel, paralysing her, "There it is again!" Matoyia said watching, "That last card was Hanoi's." Playmaker said, "This is bad..." Ai muttered.

"I-I… I-I-I'm..." Blue Angel mumbled to herself, " _A Knight of Hanoi!_ " a voice yelled within her head, at this she seemed to go back to normal to the public view, but on the inside, she was now a different person.

"Don't!" Playmaker yelled, "I… Send Dark Angel, from my Hand… To the Graveyard… To… Activate her effect." she said pressing to confirm the action, but then the second that happened, she was enveloped by dark electricity and screamed in pain, alerting most watching.

"What the hell is going on?!" Matoyia yelled, utterly confused know, unaware Mars had a dark grin on his face. "She actually used it." Ai said as Blue Angel went stiff, "What did Hanoi do to that card?" Playmaker asked himself.

"Now..." Blue Angel said in a dark tone, "By sending Lilybell to the Graveyard, Defect Complier's attack changes to another monster." she said eerily as Lilybell burst into particles.

"Now attack Holly Angel!" she shouted, "Then the monster that's now being attacked gains the tributed monster's ATK!" she said, **2200 + 800 = 3000** (Holly Angel)

"Due to Frontline Disturbance's effect, since Lilybell left the field, one monster I control gains a Disturbance Counter." he said, "I target Encode Talker!" he said, Encode Talker's Counter count (Disturbance): **0 + 1 = 1**.

"Pointless. Utterly pointless!" she yelled enraged, "Holly Angel has the higher ATK! You lose Playmaker!" she screamed out, turning to him a bit crazed.

"Now Encode Talker's effect activates!" Playmaker shouted, "Once per turn, when a monster it points to battles a monster with higher ATK, that monster is not destroyed and no battle damage is dealt to me!" he said. As the beam from Complier was suddenly cancelled out, this made Blue Angel grit her teeth in annoyance.

"Then until the end of the turn, if that effect was resolved, I can target Encode Talker or a monster it points to, and it gains ATK equal to your battling monster's ATK!" he said, "I pick Encode Talker!" he added. Encode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 3000 = 5300**.

Upon this she suddenly started yelling her lungs out, in pain, frustration, who could tell… "It's getting bad! If this keeps up, she's take serious mental damage!" Ai said, "I know!" he said, he then faced her, feeling terrible about what he was about to do next for some reason.

* * *

With Akira, he seems to be panicked at the state of his little sister's condition, "Hurry! Cut the circuits!" he ordered as Blue Angel continued to scream, putting many off from watching, the those that continued to watch were shocked.

* * *

"I activate Complier's effect! I remove 1 Defect Counter from it..." Playmaker said, **1 – 1 = 0** (Defect Complier) "Then target 1 monster I control, with it being Encode Talker, and it then gains 800 ATK!" he said as Blue Angel's screaming got stronger. **5300 + 800 = 6100** (Encode Talker)

A few seconds later, she suddenly stopped screaming, and collapse onto her board, "Hurry!" Ai yelled at him, "I know!"

* * *

"Do something! Do anything! I'll take full responsibility for this!" Akira yelled at the operators, who were suddenly blocked from doing anything else, "We can't! There's a system error!" one shouted, frustration Akira into slamming his hand on his counter, while Damien got a dark grin, which no one notices.

* * *

"Now Frontline Disturbance's effect! By removing all Disturbance Counters from Encode Talker Holly Angel lose ATK equal to Lycoris's DEF!" he said, **1 = 0** (Encode Talker), **3000 – 1200 = 1800** (Holly Angel) There was no response from Blue Angel.

"Time to end this! Battle! Encode Talker, attack Holly Angel!" he ordered, as a secret sword from the bottom of Encode unsheathed, who then swung the now shield sword over his head, and charged at Holly Angel…

" _She's crying..._ " Playmaker thought in shock as he stared at the downed Blue Angel, where he suddenly noticed tears freely flowing down her face. " _No! I need to do this!_ " he snapped himself back to normal.

"Final Encode!" he yelled as Encode roared a cry, slicing Holly Angel in two so fast, where he landed on the floor, while Holly Angel exploded still in the air, the explosion hit Blue Angel, whose air came undone, and her wings fell apart… Blue Angel's LP: **4000 –** **4300 = 0**.

Playmaker: **WINS**

Blue Angel: **LOSE**

End of chapter 7

* * *

 **Sorry about the cliff-hanger… even though all that watch the show know what happens next, but this chapter has exceed 23,000 words… So I'll cut it off here.**

 **Also the reason I changed Yusaku's Dummy Deck was that it was poorly built, and Aoi is probably smart enough to know that's its a fake, as well as AnDru, hence why I updated it.**

 **Also it had already been pointed out in earlier chapters, that Aito is the OC victim of the Lost Incident, not Matoyia. Some fan commented about wanting Matoyia to meet his Ignis, but that won't happen as he's not the victim, so once again, it's Aito.**

 **OC cards**

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Weirdware Portgate**

 **LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/500 DEF/1400**

If your opponent controls more cards than you: Special Summon this card from your Hand or Graveyard, and depending where this card is Special Summoned, Special Summon 1 other "Weirdware" monster from the same place this card was Summoned from. If this card is linked to a Link Monster, apply this effect: Once per turn, move this card to an un-used Main Monster Zone on your side of the Field, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Weirdware" from your Deck to the Zone this card was in before.

 **Weirdware Duo-ble**

 **FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/600**

While this card is face-up on the field: The first battle or effect damage to your opponent of every turn is doubled. You can only activate this effect once per turn. While this card is linked to a "Weirdware" Link Monster, apply these effects: 1) Once per turn, when that Link Monster battles a monster with higher ATK: double it's original ATK, but battle damage is halved. 2) If you use this card as Link Material: It's treated as 2 Link Material.

 **Weirdware Filter**

 **WATER, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1000 DEF/400**

Should you take damage from an effect while this card is in your Hand: Reveal this card, and if you do, reduce that damage to 0 then Special Summon this card. Should you take damage from a battle or card effect while this card is face-up on the field: Gain Life Points equal to that damage instead. If this card is linked to a "Weirdware" Link Monster, apply this effect: Once per turn, when should you take damage from a effect your opponent activated: (Quick Effect) Target the Link Monster this card is linked to, the damage becomes 0, then make the monster gain ATK equal to the damage you would've taken from that effect.

 **Element Booster**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

Activate this card only if you Special Summon a monster from the Extra Deck, using a monster with the same Attribute as the Special Summoned monster. The Special Summoned monster gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the monster with the same Attribute used as Material until the end of the turn.

 **Weirdware Imprint**

 **Normal Spell**

Activate this card before you Link Summon a "Weirdware" Link Monster. If a "Weirdware" Link Monster(s) is used as Link Material to Link Summon a "Weirdware" Link Monster: that monster gains the original effects the Link Monster(s) used as Link Material. When a "Weirdware" Link Monster is destroyed: Banish this card from your GY; draw 1 card x that monster's Link Rating, but then send cards from the top of your Deck equal to the amount of cards you drew with this effect. You can only activate each effect of "Weirdware Imprint" once per duel.

 **Weirdware Repeater**

 **EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/800 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↘

1 Level 2 or lower "Weirdware" monster

When this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 "Weirdware" card in your GY: Add it to your Hand. You can activate the following effects once per turn: 1) Should the monster this card points to be destroyed: (Quick Effect) Special Summon back that monster. 3) After the monster this card point to destroys a monster: that monster can declare a second attack.

 **Weirdware Voltage Conductor**

 **Cyberse, Link, Effect, EARTH, ATK/LINK: 1600/-2, LMs:** ↙⬇

2 "Weirdware" monsters

During either player's turn, should you take effect damage from a card effect: (Quick Effect) you can negate that damage, and if you do, target this card or a monster this card points to: It gains 1000 ATK until the end of the turn. If a monster this card points to has ATK higher than it's original ATK: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the difference in that monster's original and current ATK. You can only activate each effect of "Weirdware Voltage Conductor" once per turn.

 **Weirdware Terabyte Trojan**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2800 LINK/-4, LMs:** ↙⬆⬇↘

2+ "Weirdware" monsters

This card gains 400 ATK for every "Weirdware" Link Monster used to Link Summon this card until the end of the turn this card was Summoned. This card gains the following effect, depending on the number of monsters this card points to: 1+) Once per turn, when this card attacks a monster, that monster loses ATK equal to the original ATK of 1 monster this card points to. 2+) If this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent for every monster this card points to. 3+) Once per turn, for every card this card points to: Target up to that many cards you opponent controls, destroy them.. Should this card be destroyed by battle, tribute 1 monster this card points to instead.

 **(Blue Angel)**

 **Trickstar Abyss Alyssum**

 **Normal Trap**

Tribute 1 "Trickstar" monster you control to activate this card. This card remains face-up until the end of the turn you activate this card. You can banish 1 card for every "Trickstar" monster you control at any time for the rest of the turn this card is activated. Each time a card is banished by this card's effect: Inflict 200 damage to your opponent for every face-up "Trickstar" card you control.


	8. Chapter: 8 It's a Trap!

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or reading or TV Speaking_ "

* * *

 **Cafe Haru, Third Story (22:10 PM)**

"Man… Some people can turn against their idols so fast..." Matoyia muttered to himself as he watched the comments roll by on Blue Angel's Fan Page. It was the evening after Playmaker's Duel against Blue Angel, with Playmaker victorious, which he had guessed from the beginning.

He had returned home from Mars's apartment after the Duel had finished, where he quickly got onto his computer to find out what had happened, which was were he found Blue Angel's virtual body within the forest area, luckily his Drone, after recording the Duel's data for him, continued to record, and it caught the conversation Playmaker had with the Ignis.

What he managed he hear was something about a 'Hanoi's Program' which alerted him, so he guessed that Hanoi was involved, after the Ignis removed the program, Blue Angel was still unconscious, which alerted him even more.

Because he had the play by play of the Duel, curtsey of his Drone, he went through the cards that were used, except for Encode Talker, the new Code Talker that Playmaker received via Storm Access. He found out was that in Blue Angel's Deck, there was a new unknown card that was never there before. So he guessed this was where the program was stored.

By going through the data, he discovered that the program was extremely nasty, whoever created it was sick in the head, to put someone in a coma, while connected to Link VRAINS, with no means of logging out at any time, leaving the physical body without its mind basically.

"There must be a removal program..." he muttered to himself, going over the data for the program again. Earlier, he had also hacked into the cameras in the city's main hospital, hoping to catch a glimpse of the now comatose Aoi Zaizen, which he did, along with her step brother, who arrived an hour after she came in, with the kid that helped Aito calm down, Yusaku Fujiki, who found her on the rooftop, from what he heard from surveillance.

"Still, a bit suspicious… either that or he's her boyfriends..." he said, even though he heard the kid say that he wasn't, he may have lied to her brother.

"No point in worrying about it for now..." he sighed out, putting the computer into standby, and then made his way to bed… " _Still why did Hanoi chose her..._ " he thought falling asleep…

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base: (same time)**

"That went as planned..." Revolver said to everyone present, which was Valcry, Ares, Vire, Talon and Spectre.

"So you knew Playmaker would win from the beginning?" Valcry asked, "Of course, Playmaker has shown impressive skills with his Deck, but Blue Angel has always kept to the same simple strategy." Ares scoffed out.

"So now that Blue Angel is out of commission for now, what's next?" Ares asked, "Simple. We wait for the Security Manager, Akira Zaizen, to set up the trap for Playmaker..." he said turning away from them.

"He must think that Playmaker is responsible for his sister's state, and will try and capture him." he explained, "And when that time comes, we too shall strike." he finished, "So for now, we wait, for now return to the real world… except for Vire, I would like to speak with you." he said, everyone else nodding and then lefted to two alone.

"Yes master?" he asked, "Keep a close eye on Akira, and tell me if he acts up, that way we can know when he strikes out..." Revolver said, "Yes sir… but before I go, can I ask you something, involving the monster in the Data Storm?" Vire said.

"Go on..." he said, "What do you plan to do with it? It has shown it's marvellous power to destroy data with ease, that power could help us to destroy the Cyberse World." he said, "True, but that power is out of control, I have no use for a monster that will not listen to me… So I shall have to destroy it, should I come across it." Revolver answered.

"Such a shame, very well, I understand your choice, good night." Vire said, then lefted the base, leaving Revolver to himself, " _That monster though… just what is it?_ " he thought to himself, never before had he seen anything that violent before.

" _I must also find out who Playmaker is, and why he's attacking us..._ " he added, with nothing left to do, he decided to log out and check on his father's condition…

* * *

 **SOL Technologies,** **the next day,** **(10:15 AM)**

Waiting outside the conference room, which Akira had gone into was Damien, waiting for his boss to come back out, having been summoned by their superiors to discussed what happened yesterday.

" _Akira sure seems calm today, despite the fact h_ _is_ _sister is now a vegetable..._ " Damien thought, just standing around, then looked to the right and saw the vacant desk, "Who works at this station again?" he asked himself.

He then heard footsteps, making their way towards him, making him look to see a man approaching them, "Hello?" the tall man standing, with a drink in hand, "Who are you?" Damien asked, "Mars Volturnus." Mars introduced himself.

"I take it you're with Zaizen?" Mars asked, "Yes, I'm Damien Finch..." Damien introduced himself, the two then look behind at the steel doors, where Akira currently was behind.

"How do you think this will go for him?" Mars asked, sitting down at his desk. "Not well, Zaizen's little sister basically in a way betrayed the company. It can't end well for him..." Damien answered, faking sadness, but not actually giving a care underneath.

A few more minutes passed, during this the two kept to their selves. "So…" Mars began, "I hear you originally came from America?" he asked.

"Yeah." Damien answered, "Outside of Den City, or Japan for that matter, most other country's standards of living have plummeted, is that correct?" he asked, "Yeah, that's the main reason I decided to leave home." Damien answered again.

"What about you? Why work for SOL?" Damien asked the other, "Just needed a good job." Mars said, lying of course, not that he knew.

Before Damien could ask any more, the conference room doors slid open, walking out of them was Akira, looking solemn. "How'd it go sir?" Damien asked, "Not well..." he said, he then walked off, "See you later I guess?" Mars said.

"Sure..." he said, after that Damien proceeded to follow his boss.

After the two were far away, "How bad is it?" he asked again, "My job is on the line..." Akira said, "Is there any way to secure it?" he asked, "Maybe..." he answered.

" _This could be my chance to push forward Revolver's plan._ " Damien thought, "So how did Blue-" he went to say, but the stare he got stopped him, "I mean… How did your sister get that program?" he asked.

"I believe Playmaker planted that program in her, for whatever reason, I don't know." Akira said, making a fist, which Damien noticed, "But why he do such a thing? He's against Hanoi!" he said.

"Leverage, I think, he must want info from SOL Technologies, that's why he went for my sister..." he said.

"Well, I don't think there's anything you can do to stop him, not with SOL's _help_ on the matter..." Damien said, making Akira slow down, "Help..." he heard Akira mutter to himself, he then started walking again, a bit more faster this time.

"Where you going sir?" he asked, "Leaving for today, there's something I need to do..." he answered back, a few moments after he turned the corner, Damien's expression dropped.

"Finally! Didn't think he was smart enough to see through that hint..." he said, " _Now I think I should give Revolver a call, tell him that Akira may be on the move for Playmaker..._ " he thought, and with that, he made his way to his office to do just that…

* * *

 **Yusaku's Home, (9:23 PM)**

All the lights were off, not a noise was made, but still up, staring at the ceiling from his bed was Yusaku, he had tried to fall asleep but for some reason couldn't.

" _Why?_ " he asked himself, " _Why is this bothering me?_ " he asked himself again, "Oh! What are you still up for?" Ai asked from the glass container, his eye having been staring at him the entire time, he was hoping for Yusaku to fall asleep, that way he could plan with Roboppy more.

"Can't sleep." he answered, this annoyed the AI, "I know that! But why?" he asked the human, suddenly a thought came to his digital mind, "Is it about Aoi Zaizen?" he said smugly, "What does that have to do with this?" Yusaku asked quickly, sitting up as he did.

"Oh! Did I strike a nerve!" Ai gleefully said, "Answer before I erase you." he threatened, "Okay okay! Sheesh, human's are so touchy about feelings..." Ai said, "Perhaps you feel guilty about what happened to her. Think about it, if you had simply duelled her when she challenged you back then, she may not have suffered Hanoi's program." it answered.

"That program never showed itself during her Duel against Codebuster, meaning it must of happened between after and before your Duel against her." it added. "True, but why would I feel guilty about it?" he asked.

"They say guilt is a powerful thing, add other emotions into the equation, and it's even strong enough to affect you!" it teased.

"I don't get it, but your starting to bore me now..." Yusaku said, then lying down again, "Hey! I'm still talking!" it yelled, "Guess you are good for something… Putting me to sleep..." Yusaku slowly said, drifting off to sleep. "Hey! Wake up! I'm not done talking to you!" it yelled, but too late, his master was already asleep…

"How rude… He knows I'm right! He just can't admit it..." it grumbled out…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru, Second Story, the next day (18:21 PM)**

The work day was over, Asuka had relunctantly opened up shop, just to make income again, nothing interesting had happened, not even in Link VRAINS at all, but Matoyia knew something was coming, just a feeling he had.

During the last few days, Aito had slowly recovered from his trauma experience, walking about like normal, but had yet to say a word, which both he and Asuka understood. "He seems to have gotten better." Matoyia said helping Asuka make dinner, tonight rice and pork-cutlets. "I think he can go back to school soon." he added.

"Still… I would like to keep him home for a few more days..." Asuka said stirring the rice, she quickly stole a glance at Aito who was watching the TV on the Link VRAINS Channel. "There is such a thing as over protective you know." Matoyia said, earning a shove from her.

"Hey! I don't want to make him encounter this Shima guy too soon, he was the one that caused it to happen..." she grumbled, she could just imagine the guy, tormenting her precious baby brother, in her mind he looked tough and buff… Boy she had no idea how wrong she was…

"You know for a fact that this kid didn't mean it right? He had no idea that Aito would react like that." Matoyia argued back gently.

"… 1 more day!" she said, ending the conversation, and with that the rest of the meal prepping was done in silence…

"Blue Angel..." they heard Aito mutter from the living room, alerted, the two quickly rushed to his side… Before Matoyia rushed back to put the cooking food on simmer.

"What did you say bud?" he asked the younger, "Blue Angel..." Aito said again this time pointing at the TV, the two adults turned to the TV and were shocked to see in fact Blue Angel on the TV, clearly about to say something.

"Playmaker! You'll pay for what you did to me!" 'she' said addressing the public from her side. "If your watching this, come on out! And Duel me again!" she yelled out.

"How is that possible?! I now for a fact she was still in her coma this morning..." Matoyia said to himself, he had briefly tapped into the hospital's cameras again, and once again saw an unconscious Aoi Zaizen.

"A fake?" Asuka suggested, she too was shocked, "Most likely, and my guess is that Playmaker has been watching over Aoi too." he said.

"He may go and confront this imposter, which is clearly a trap..." he added, he then made his way to the stair case, "I'm going in! Leave me a serving." he said, "Good luck!" she said as he acsended upwards…

 **Link VRAINS (5 minutes later)**

Now riding across a data stream was Codebuster, looking out for the fake Blue Angel, as well as Playmaker too, he had to warn him, or challenge him to a Duel. " _This is either Hanoi trying to guilt him with something, or SOL, but what would they_ -" he thought but stopped.

"Of course! Akira Zaizen must want revenge for what he thinks Playmaker did to her." he said to himself, just then he spotted a figure on a roof top, as he got closer, he could identify that it was the fake Blue Angel. Just then a portal appeared in the sky, appearing from it was Playmaker who quickly landed on the same rooftop.

Codebuster carefully got closer to listen to them. As he did he spotted Frog and Pigeon flying to them, " _Why do those two always get involved? Are they that desperate_?" he asked himself.

"So you came, Playmaker." 'Blue Angel' said smiling, now Codebuster knew something was a foot, "Who are you?" Playmaker asked, shocking Frog and Pigeon, "I know your not Blue Angel." he said.

"Oh, you already found out?" 'Blue Angel' said shrugging, "Because I talk like an old lady? I'm shocked!" she said, " _Well I wouldn't say old, but-_ " Codebuster thought but froze, having realised who that was.

" _Not her!_ " he thought, "Oh well. Sorry, but I'm going to capture you." she said, producing a rose from her hand. "Playmaker! Run!" Codebuster yelled, alerting Playmaker who looking at him.

"When did the shooter get here!?" Ai yelled panicking. Just then 'Blue Angel' tossed the rose at Playmaker's feet, it glowed, before enveloping Playmaker in a circle of pinkish light, this light forced the now trapped Duelist to his knees.

"What's happened?!" the AI yelled, "I can't move!" Playmaker got out, struggling to keep himself upright. As this happened the light started spread across the entire building, and a couple of others. This caused the building around them to move about, the avatars down below were shocked and tried to get away, but they instantly vanished.

"What the hell is that woman doing?!" Codebuster said to himself, trying to keep himself on his D-Board the light affecting him slighty. He glanced to his left and saw the moving building starting to shift, stretch and twist, morphing into something new.

They finally stopped shifting, having now become red spires of curved rocks, the building in the middle that the two, being the fake Blue Angel and the now trapped Playmaker started to sink into the crack that appeared below until only the near top was lefted.

Next to appear from the earth was a building that looked like a church, Codebuster quickly looked down, just in time to see Playmaker slowly become ensnared in light vines.

"All of Link VRAINS is the Trap!? Now that's going too far!" Ai screeched out. "I stayed up all night to write this program." she said, "Yep definitely her" Codebuster muttered. He then saw her snap her fingered, making the rest of the building to sink a bit more lower and for it to shrink inwards a bit.

The trap around Playmaker then dragged him down into the ground, "Thanks for the distraction Codebuster!" she said looking up at Codebuster, she gave a wink and disappeared.

"Why did it have to be her..." Codebuster muttered, he then looked around at the new form for the building.

"Let's see if she left a weak spot..." he said to himself, guiding his board to a side of the building, and then activating his drone from his back.

He then input a command from his Duel Disk arm, were bits of data appeared as he typed, doing so caused his drone to release a beam that formed a grid on the wall, it then began moving about, scanning the wall.

"Man her work is good, but if she had to make this in one night..." he said, as he said this his drone stopped, having spotted an anomaly. "She must have rushed some security measures." he said, turning off the data commands he was using and made his way over to where his drone was looking at.

He slowly touched to wall, his hand seemingly phasing through it. He disembarked from his board, which disappeared and made his wall into the wall, his drone then followed after him.

" _God this feels weird.._." he thought, crouching through data, a few seconds later he spotted a light, and moved a bit faster to it.

He pushed his head into it, and saw into the interior of the building, it was built like a church or something, where he currently was was within a circular glass panel.

Down below was Playmaker in his trap, which had now shifted into a demonic skeletal hand, and just under him was the Blue Angel imposter and a second Blue Angel on pillowed bench of some kind, only this one was unconscious now, her hair was out of its hairpins and ribbons and now reached past her upper back.

" _Theres the real Blue Angel..._ " he thought, "What's your goal?" he heard Playmaker ask from his confines. Just then the conscious Blue Angel turned purple, her form starting to change.

"My name is Ghost Girl." the new form of the fake Blue Angel said. This woman was in her early twenties, wearing a one piece outfit, it was a black and dark violet vest with a zipper. Stockings that matched her vest with black and grey boots. She also wore a black mask that covered the lower face that was connected to her black short-sleeve under vest. Her hair was mostly grey in colour with a single violet upwards curved bang, it was also done in a pony tail.

"I'm a money-for-hire, alluring, mysterious beauty." Ghost Girl said, hearing this Codebuster rolled his eyes, " _Still the same as ever, huh Emma..._ " he thought. He and Ghost Girl or in real life, Emma Bessho, had worked together once when he was just a rookie bounty hunter… and she when they were about to claim the reward, betrayed him and took the reward and credit for the whole thing.

This left a bad taste in his mouth the moment she was involved in anything. "Your employer is SOL Technologies." he heard Playmaker say, so he turned back to listen again.

"My employer wants to ask you something." she said back, as soon as she finished, another person appeared in, looking at Blue Angel's unconscious form as they did, " _Akira!_ " Codebuster thought, it made since that he would be behind this… but he still couldn't figure out why Hanoi targeted his sister for?

"So you're Playmaker." Akira said facing the trapped Playmaker, "You did all this just for me." Playmaker said back, "I'll do anything to capture you. My name is Akira Zaizen." he said to him, then his expression became a bit more angered.

"The brother of Blue Angel, who you hurt." he spat out, "Now what did you do to my sister during that Duel?" Akira asked then looked at his sister. "Ever since that Duel, she's been in a coma..." he said.

"… Unable to leave Link VRAINS." he added slowly, "You have it all wrong. I didn't do a thing. She had Hanoi's card before we Dueled." Playmaker defended.

"Liar!" Akira yelled, "My sister would never align herself with the likes of the Knights of Hanoi!" he yelled out. "But it's true. She was infected with Hanoi's virus." Playmaker said back.

"And in order to return her to normal, we must acquire a removal program from Hanoi." he added, at this Codebuster perked up.

" _Hanoi must have made a removal program as a bargaining chip._ " Codebuster thought smiling, " _If I could get that program, I could sell it to Akira at a moderate-_ " he said but stopped himself, he quickly shook his head.

" _What am I thinking?! I can't think about money while someone's life could be at risk!_ " he thought. "Do you honestly think those lies will work?" Akira snapped, once again making Codebuster focus on the conversation.

"I will hear the truth, even if I must tear you limb from limb!" he yelled, "That's pointless." Playmaker retorted, "Quiet! That's my decision!" Akira said, "I have plenty of time to torment you!" he added holding his hand out, which was glowing purple.

This action caused the trap around Playmaker to tighten, making him scream in pain, shocking Codebuster who stayed quiet. "Hey! I'm against violence!" he heard the AI say.

"Ignis! My company will retrieve you!" Akira said, " _Ignis… That's it! That's why they went after Blue Angel, let Akira do the dirty and they-_ " Codebuster thought, but another scream tore itself from Playmaker as once again the trap tightened more.

Just then the sound of thunder could be heard, everyone in the room froze, suddenly a blot of lightning broke through the ceiling and crashed into the ground, blinding all, "What?" Ghost Girl said shocked, this was not part of her program.

The light faded, revealing someone kneeling on the floor, " _Who is that? It's clearly a Knight of Hanoi..._ " Codebuster thought watching as the being rose, "He's-" Ai said shocked.

"Revolver!" Playmaker finished, shocking Codebuster with that, " _That's Revolver!? The leader of Hanoi!?_ " he thought, "Revolver?" Ghost Girl said confused. "A Knight of Hanoi" Akira said, "Let Playmaker go." Revolver said, not facing the two, secretly three.

"What?" Akira said, "I'll be the one to face him." Revolver said looking up at Playmaker, "I can't allow that!" Akira spat out, "I see..." he said, this time slowly turning to face the two.

"It would be wise for you to not underestimate my power!" he said, he then looked skyward, raising a single hand to the air. A few moments later the room started to shake, and appearing from the hole that Revolver came through was a twister of data that surrounded Revolver.

He then swiped his raised hand towards the two, causing the winds to fly at them, the two, as well as the hiding Codebuster braced themselves as the wind tore apart a section of the church, luckily Codebuster's hiding spot remained somewhat intact, just enough to keep him hidden still.

But he was stilled shocked at what just happened to him, " _WTF! He can control the Data Storm?!_ " he thought, still in slight shock.

"I could easily destroy Link VRAINS if I wanted to. But I don't care about that." Revolver said to Akira, "I only have one objective. Playmaker's AI." he finished.

"Do you think we'll just give it to you?" Akira said back, "Yes you will, for you see, we've put a computer virus in your sister, Blue Angel." Revolver said shocking Akira, "Only we can remove the virus." he said.

"Why my sister?" Akira asked, "For hostage." he simply said, "Hostage!" Akira growled out, "It could have been anyone, so long as it inflamed Playmaker's sense of justice and drew him out." he explained.

"A no-name wouldn't be effective. Which is why we picked Blue Angel, there was a slight chance she could have beaten him, due to her Duel against Codebuster..." he added, this made Codebuster feel guilty about this now.

"Hand over the removal program!" Akira yelled out, "That will depend on you." Revolver said, up above still hiding Codebuster had another idea. " _No… that's depends on me._ " he thought, looking at his non Duel Disk arm which held his laser.

He then looked between Revolver and Playmaker, " _If I hit Revolver with it, I can maybe defeat him for the removal program, but Akira may steal the Ignis while that happens, but if I hit Playmaker then Revolver can't duel him, and I can retrieve the Ignis… but then I'll become Hanoi's target...'_ " he thought, still glancing between the two.

" _Revolver... Playmaker… Revolver… Playmaker..._ " he thought, he knew either of the two was powerful, but he knew next to nothing about Revolver. As he kept glancing he quickly glanced at Blue Angel's still form.

This caused him to focus on her, he knew what he had to do… He slowly aimed his arm at…

"If you retrieve the Ignis, you'll fulfill your job for SOL Technologies. But-" Revolver suddenly he heard a clicking noise, making them all freeze up. Just then an orange beam tore itself from the stain glass panel, shattering them as it did, this finally revealed Codebuster to them.

"Codebuster! How long was he-" Playmaker said, but notice the beam which he thought was aimed at him was actually aiming for- "It's heading for Revolver!" Ai said, time seemed to slow down.

The beam getting closer and closer to Revolver, but just before it could hit him square in the chest, something else blocked it's trajectory, the object which was a sword slammed itself into the ground next to Revolver, the weapon now glowing.

"What!?" Codebuster yelled in shocked, as did the rest minus Revolver who was smiling. "Codebuster, finally decided to show yourself..." Revolver said, "You knew he was there the entire time." Akira said.

"Of course I did, as did my other members..." he said, at this, four other Hanoi knights dropped down from the open ceiling.

They of course were Talon, Ares, Vire and a new one that neither of them had seen yet. "I believe some of you know Talon, who was responsible for destroying something SOL Technologies was testing" he said looking at Talon, who didn't respond.

"Ares, who commanded an assault on Link VRAINS to lure out Playmaker, but failed due to you Codebuster..." he said, Ares looked to glare at Codebuster at that little remark.

"You personally know Vire don't you?" he said, with Vire walking up to the trapped Playmaker, "How you been?" Vire mocked.

"And finally, Valcry..." he said, Valcry who was the only girl Hanoi Knight there, walked over to Revolver's side, and picked up the sword, a sudden orange glow eveloped her, then faded.

" _Data Beam target acquired._ " Codebuster's Duel Disk said, "What did you do?" Codebuster asked her, "Just a stasis program mixed into the sword, any other program that I hit with the sword is suspended until I tell it so..." Valcry said glaring at Codebuster.

"Now you either Duel me now, or run away like the coward you really are!" she said, Codebuster glared back at this, "Guess I've got no other choice..." he said, he then looked at Akira then Playmaker, "Sorry I couldn't help..." he muttered.

He then jumped up to the open ceiling, Valcry, Ares, Talon and Vire then followed him. The whole room was quiet for a moment.

"As I was saying, you either retrieve the Ignis, or your sister won't wake up from the darkness for the rest of her life..." Revolver said. "If Playmaker defeats me in a Duel, I'll give you the removal program.

"No way! Entrust my sister's future to people I don't even know?" Akira retorted, "There's only one path! Now choose your sister's future!" he said, as Akira gritted his teeth…

* * *

 **Up above… (A few moments later)**

" _Great… What have I gotten myself into..._ " Codebuster thought, looking around, as the four knights had surrounded him in a box formation.

"I've been wanting to take you down the second you interfered back then..." Ares said cracking his knuckles, "Leave some for the rest of us!" Vire laughed out hysterical. "When I beat you, I'll be one step closer to leaving this behind me..." Talon muttered, but no one heard him.

" ***Cough*** I'll think you'll find that it will be me to challenge and beat Codebuster..." Valcry said, the orange glow appeared again to prove her point.

"Whatever, hurry up and lose so it's my turn next." Ares said, " _Clearly these lot have no respect for one another..._ " Codebuster thought.

Just then, Revolver appeared on a standard Hanoi D-Board, followed by Playmaker on his, "I'll leave you lot to take care of our enemy..." Revolver said, then looked down Codebuster like he was an insect.

"Should you survive, then I'll personally deal with you myself..." he threatened, he then took off, Playmaker lagged behind. "Good luck Codebuster..." he heard Playmaker say to him. With that he also took off.

So are you ready to lose?" Valcry said smirking, she activated her Duel Disk, "I think I should be saying that!" Codebuster retorted, also arming his Duel Disk, while discreetly inputting a command.

Appearing between them was the layout for a master Duel.

"DUEL!" the two yelled drawing five cards each.

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

Valcry's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'll go first!" Codebuster said, "I activate the effect of Cyberdark Cannon from my Hand!" he said, revealing the card, the name of the card shocked Valcry, and confused the others. "He's not using his Weirdware Deck..." Ares said.

"Why are you using that outdated Deck for!? Don't think I'm good enough for your Cyberse Deck!" Valcry spat out.

"Always got to keep the enemy on their toes." was all Codebuster said, "As I was saying, by sending Cannon from my Hand to the Graveyard..." he said doing just that, "I can add 1 Machine-Type Cyberdark monster from my Deck to my Hand." he said, his Deck ejected a card which he took.

"Then I Normal Summon Cyberdark Keel!" he said, placing the card on his blade, appearing in the Middle Main Monster Zone was a dark grey cybernetic segmented serpent monster, with wires here and there, it howled as it appeared.

 **Cyberdark Keel: DARK, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/** 800

"Keel's effect! When Normal Summoned, it can equip itself with a Level 3 or lower Dragon-Type in my Graveyard!" he said, "I pick Cannon, who is a Level 3 Dragon-Type." he said, the wires on Keel, extended, shooting into a dark portal and dragging Cannon out of it.

Cannon was also a serpent like monster, but slightly thicker and purple in colour, on what appeared to be it's head were two blades for horns, its entire body was segmented, and its tail was split with two small tips.

As the monster was dragged near Keel, it suddenly straightened out, it was now connected just below Keel's lower body, now looking a lot like a cannon. "Keel gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the equipped monster, Cannon's is 1600! So it gains that!" he said. Keel's ATK: **800 + 1600 = 2400.**

"Then I place two cards and end my turn!" he said, as two cards appeared face down and faded.

Codebuster's Hand x 2

 **Turn 2**

"I'll make you regret not using your full power on me! I draw!" she yelled drawing her card, then a hand to show her own cards to her self as they floated in front on her.

But before she went even further, the ground started to shake, "W-What's happening?!" Codebuster yelled out, trying to balance himself. Around the five, the earth was starting to split apart, magma spilling out of each crack.

Smoke started to billow out of nearly every crevice, when the shaking finally stopped, Codebuster looked up in shock at how much more the area had changed, "This… This looks like Hell itself!" he yelled out.

"Revolver sure does make an impression." Ares said grinning at their surroundings, "Revolver did this?" Codebuster asked shocked, he thought Ghost Girl's trap was amazing, If Revolver could do this, that meant he was more powerful then he imagined him to be.

"Sure did! Just you wait until he Duels you! You won't stand a chance in hell" Vire spat out laughing at his shock, "Let's get back to the Duel!" Valcry snapped. Talon remained quiet the entire time.

"I activate the Spell, Elkryie Match-Up!" she said touching one of the card, the card appeared bigger on the field, to show an image of a female warrior monster and another monster as a silhouette, both monsters had the same colour aura.

"I target 1 monster on the Field and add an Elkryie monster from my Deck to my Hand that is the same attribute as that monster!" she explained.

"I target Keel, who is a DARK monster..." she said, her Deck ejecting a card from the ring around the Disk, she took it.

"Elkryie Tenebrisena's effect activates!" she said, revealing the card she just added, "When added to my Hand due to a Elkryie card's effect, I can Special Summon her!" she said waving her hand over the card.

Appearing on the field was a woman with dark black hair, tanned skinned and wearing pitch black armor with silver trimmings on it. Her skirt of the armour was plated, and sharp as was the rest of her armour. There were gaps on the armour were the arms and leg parts didn't connect to the main armour. Her helmet allowed her face to remain exposed, to show that her eyes were amber in colour. In her right hand was a scimitar that was curved and jagged. She was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Elkryie Tenebrisena: DARK, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 1300

"Then I Normal Summon Elkryie Terricka!" she said, appearing in the Right Main Monster Zone another woman appeared, her hair was dusty blonde and short, framing her face. Like Tenebrisena, she also wore armour just like her, but hers was brown and orange in colours, with gold trimmings. Her weapon of choice was a studded club.

 **Elkryie Terricka: EARTH, Level: 3 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 700

"Terricka's effect! When Normal Summoned I can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Elkryie from my Hand, but it returns to it at the end of the turn." she said, "So now I Summon Elkryie Ventina!"

Now appearing in the Left Main Monster Zone was another woman, a bit younger than the other two, her hair was dark green and flowing, her armour was a light green, and spiral cloud patterns on it. Her weapons were two battle fans.

 **Elkryie Ventina: WIND, Level: 2 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/** 800 **DEF/1200**

"Now appear! The Circuit that will show me my desires!" she yelled throwing her hand into the air, this caused sparks to short out from her hand, into the air, and cause the Link Portal to appear above them.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning is one Level 3 or lower Elkryie monster!" she said, "I set Ventina in the Link Marker!" she said, Ventina began to swirl in a vortex of wind, carrying her up to the Portal, disappearing mid-way and hitting the Middle Bottom Marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1 Elkryie Flurrika!" she yelled out.

Appearing from the portal was a twister of wind, it dispersed revealing Ventina, but more mature than before. Her armour was more detailed, now with wing like protrusions on her arms and back, her hair has become longer and more wavy with the wind surrounding her. Her weapons had been replaced with two windmill shurikens, the shape of each blade was like spiral of wind. She gave a war cry as she appeared in the Right Extra Monster Zone, pointing to Terricka.

 **Elkryie Flurrika: WIND [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/800 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"800 ATK..." Codebuster said, "Battle! Flurrika can attack you directly!" she ordered, with Flurrika throwing one of her weapons at Codebuster, "Although this halves the damage you take, but during the attack, I can tribute the monster she points to..." she said.

Terricka who was linked to the Link Monster, burst into particles, "By doing this, her ATK doubles!" she explained, shocking him. Flurrika's ATK: **800 x2 = 1600**.

Codebuster was so shocked by this, and barely had time to dodge the thrown weapon, it just grazing his right cheek. "Sh*t! That stings!" he swore, cupping his cheek, data fizzing from it until it healed. Codebuster's LP: **4000 – 800 = 3200**.

"I sent two cards and end my turn..." she said, two cards appearing on her field then fading away. "Let's see you take on my Elkryies!" she said challengingly. "Flurrika's ATK returns to normal" **1600 = 800** (Flurrika)

Valcry's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"How is Revolver doing?" Ares asked Talon to his left, Talon then brought up a screen to watch Revolver's Speed Duel with Playmaker. It was the start of the 3 turn for them.

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster shouted drawing his card. "I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Core!" he said, appearing in the Right Main Monster Zone was a small silver robotic serpent, it was segmented, each segment was oval shaped, it had no eyes, and four segments down was a spherical core with red wires dangling.

 **Cyber Dragon Core: LIGHT, Level: 2 [Machine/Effect] ATK/DEF: 400 DEF/** 1500

"When Core is Normal Summoned, I can add 1 Cyber Spell or Trap from my Deck to my Hand!" he said. "I'll add the Field Spell, Cyberdark Inferno!" he said, his Deck giving him the card.

"Then I activate it!" he said, the card appearing on the field, Keel then glowed eerie.

"Then I activate the Spell, Machine Duplication!" he said, "I target 1 Machine-Type monster I control with 500 or less ATK, and Special Summon up to 2 monsters with the same name as the target.

"I pick Core, so now I Summon two more Cores!" he said, the cards ejected themselves from his Deck, which he took and placed on his blade, appearing in the far Right and Left Main Monster Zones were two more Cores in Attack.

"Appear before me! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he said, the Link Portal appearing again.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Machine-Type monsters, including a Cyberdark monster!" he said.

"I set Cyberdark Keel and a Cyber Dragon Core! In the Link Markers!" Keel and the Dragon Core in the Right Main Monster Zone, turned into twisters, Cannon being destroyed at the time. The two then hit the Middle Top and Middle Bottom Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Cyberdark Razor Dragon!" he yelled out. Appearing from the portal was a cybernetic dragon, for it's head it was shaped like an arrowhead, it's torso was skeletal, the spine had curved spikes on. For it's wing, they were high tech hover pads, with 4 fins on the ends on them. At the hip bone were two small legs with sharp talons on the feet. And it's tail had a stinger on the end. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster to Codebuster's Right.

 **Cyberdark Razor Dragon: DARK [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

When the monster was completely Summoned, Codebuster felt that the winds were starting to pick up. " _Odd..._ " he thought.

"Razor's effect! When Special Summoned, it can equip a Level 4 or lower Dragon-Type from my Graveyard!" he explained. "The only one is Cannon!" he added. Cannon appeared from a dark portal, the wires on Razor plugging themselves in.

"Like Keel, it gains ATK equal to its equipped monster!" he said, Razor Dragon's ATK: **1000 + 1600 = 2600**.

"Once more!" he said, the portal appeared again. "The Summoning conditions are 2 Machine-Type monsters including Cyber Dragon!" he said.

"I set two Core Dragons whose effects treat them as Cyber Dragons while on the field and Graveyard!" he said, the ones in the Left and Far Right Main Monster Zones, turned into twisters and shot into the air, hitting the Middle Left and Middle Bottom markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Cyber Dragon Zeiger!" he yelled out, as Zeiger Dragon appeared on the field with a roar as it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone that Razor Dragon pointed to.

 **Cyber Dragon Zeiger: LIGHT [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2100 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

This time when Zeiger was fully Summoned, everyone felt a pulse echo around them, "What is that?" Talon asked, just then another pulse hit them, shaking the building. A few moments later, they all heard a powerful roar of a creature from somewhere. Are's feed that was watching Revolver and Playmaker was cut off.

"Did the master capture the monster?" Vire said hopeful to himself.

"Now I use Razor's other effect!" he said, the marker pointing to Zeiger Dragon glowed. "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster it points to, and that monster gains half of Razor's current ATK!" he said.

Two cords from Razor latched themselves onto Zeiger, flooding it with energy as Zeiger Dragon roared in slight pain. Zeiger Dragon's ATK: **2100 + 1300 = 3400**.

"Battle! Zeiger attacks Flurrika!" he ordered, Zeiger opened it maw and charged a beam, then fired it at Flurrika at incredible speeds. "I activate the Trap, Elkryie's Combined Guard!" Valcry yelled out.

One of her face downs flipped up, showing an image of two Elkryie monster working together to repel an attack. "I target one other Elkryie monster, and add half it's ATK onto Flurrika's ATK!" she explained. "I target Tenebrisena!" she said. **800 + 900 = 1700**. (Flurrika)

The beam made contact with Flurrika, vaporising her as she screamed, Valcry's LP: **4000 –** **1700 = 2300**.

"Now Razor Dragon attacks Tenebrisena!"Razor's body started to crackle with energy, said energy made its way over to it's head, where a dark ball of energy was gathering. It screeched as it released its attack, destroying the DARK Elkryie with ease. **2300 – 800 = 1500** (Valcry)

"Tenebrisena's effect!" Valcry yelled out, "When destroyed by battle, I can add an Elkryie monster from my Deck to my Hand other than herself!" she said, her Deck giving her a card.

"I'll add Ignira!" she said, "And when added to my Hand by a Elkryie card effect, she can Special Summon herself!" Appearing on the Field in the Middle Main Monster Zone was a new Elkryie monster, she had orange flaming hair that seemed to dance slightly. Her armor was like the others, but orange and red in colour. In her hand was a flaming pair of Sais.

 **Elkryie Ignira: Level: 3, Warrior, Effect, FIRE, ATK/DEF: 1500/** 1000

" _I get it… Those two effect are shared with the Elkr_ _y_ _ie Main Deck monsters to ensure no direct attacks can get through..._ " Codebuster thought instantly as the FIRE Elkryie monster appearered.

"I end my turn!" Codebuster said, "With it ending, Zeiger's ATK returns to normal..." he said, **3400 = 2100**. (Zeiger)

"And with it ending, I activate the Trap, Elkryie Retreating Reaction!" Valcry said, activating her second face-down, it showed a group of Elkryie monsters retreating from a warzone, but another group was heading to it.

"During the end of the turn that two or more Elkryie monster are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can return all destroyed monster to my Deck and Extra Deck..." she said returning Tenebrisena and Flurrika to her Extra Deck and Deck respectively.

"Then I draw a card per returned card." she said, drawing two cards, her Deck then shuffled itself.

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 4**

" _Not only did she survive, but she increased her Hand..._ " Codebuster thought narrowing his eyes. " _She's dangerous..._ " he noted.

"I draw!" she shouted drawing her card. "I activate the Continous Spell, Elkryie Elemental Springs!" she said, the card appeared on the field, the image showed many Elkryie monsters gathered around a lake of pure water that had a soft glow to it.

"Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Elkryie monster from my Graveyard whose Attribute is not the same as any I control on the Field!" she explained.

"I summon back Terricka!" she said, Terricka then appeared from a dark portal into the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Now I Normal Summon Elkryie Aqualin!" she said, appearing in the Left Main Monster Zone was a new Elkryie monster, her hair was dark blue and shoulder length, unlike the others, under her armoured skirt, she had a light blue cloth that reached to her feet. Her armour had plating the shape of raindrops on it. And her weapon was a sceptre.

 **Elkryie Aqualin: WATER, Level: 1 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/500 DEF/** 800

"Then I activate a second Elkryie Match-Up!" she said. "I target Zeiger Dragon, letting me add a LIGHT Elkryie to my Hand!" she said, her Deck giving her the card.

"As with the others, Luxanne can Special Summon itself when added to my Hand by an Elkryie card effect!" she said, Appearing in the Far Right Main Monster Zone was another new Elkryie monster. Her armour was a brillant white. Her armour was silver, and her weapon was an axe.

 **Elkryie Luxanne: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 1000

"She has a Elkryie for each Attribute..." Codebuster muttered to himself, "Appear! The Circuit that will show me my desires!" she yelled, the Link Portal appeared again.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 Elkryie monsters!" she said, "I now set Ignira and Luxanne in the Link Markers!" she said, the two monsters turned into twisters of their elements, and made their way to the Markers, Luxanne to the Middle Left and Ignira the Middle Bottom.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Elkryie Pryilis!" she yelled out, appearing from the portal in a flaming vortex was a new monster, they dispersed the flamed revealing a Elkryie, she looked like Ignira, but more mature. One of her arms was not armours, but it did have a brace on it. On her back was a quiver for arrows. In her hand was a bow, with the tips flame shaped. She was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Valcry's Right.

 **Elkryie Pryilis: FIRE [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"Now I activate the Spell, Arrow Charge!" she said, "Since we both control a Link Monster in the Extra Monster Zones with the same rating, I can draw 2 cards!" she said doing just that.

"I then use Pyrilis's effect!" she said. "I target 1 other Elkryie, and she can no longer attack... ," she said, "But Pyrilis increases her ATK by the targets!" she said.

"I choose Terricka!" she said, Pyrilis's ATK: **1600 + 1600 = 3200**. "Battle! Pyrilis attack Cyberdark Razor Dragon!" she ordered, Pyrilis took an arrow from her quiver, stringed into her bow, pulled back the string and aimed right at the Cyberdark Link monster.

A second later, she released the string, shooting the arrow at Razor, the arrow catching fire as it did.

"Should Razor be destroyed, I can destroy the equipped monster instead!" he said, as soon as the arrow hit Razor, it disconnected Cannon, who burst into particles. **3200 – 600 = 2600** (Codebuster)

"Since it lefted the Field, Razor's ATK goes back to normal..." he said, **2600 = 1000**. (Razor)

"Now I activate the Trap, Cyberdark Rage!" he yelled, one of his face-downs flipped up, to show Cyberdark Dragon letting go of a monster that was sparking with energy.

"When a monster equipped onto a Cyberdark monster is destroyed, you take damage equal to that monster's ATK!" he said.

"Cannon's ATK is 1600, so take that!" he yelled at her, a dark beam shot out of the card, and made it's way to Valcry, who remained calm.

"Aqualin's effect!" she shouted, "I tribute her from my Hand or Field, and negate the damage from a battle or effect!" she said as Aqualin vanished, leaving behind a bubble that absorbed the beam.

"Then I gain LP equal to the negated damage." she said grinning. **1500 + 1600 = 3100** (Valcry)

"Now I end my turn with two face-downs!" she said, two cards appeared on the Field then vanished. "With it ending, Pyrilis's ATK returns to normal..." she added. **3200 = 1600** (Pyrilis)

Valcry's Hand x 0

 **Turn 5**

"I draw!" Codebuster drew his card. "I activate the Spell, Cyber Repair Plant!" he said, using a card from his Hand. "Since there is a Cyber Dragon in my Graveyard..." he said, which he technically did due to the Core Dragon's effect.

"I can activate one of the following effects!" he said, then smirked. "But since I have 3 Cyber Dragons in my Graveyard when I activated this card's other effect..." again he reminded her of the 3 Core Dragons. "I can activate both the effects in sequence!" he said.

"The first effect let's me add a LIGHT Machine-Type from my Deck to my Hand." he said, adding the selected card to his Hand.

"The second let's me shuffle a LIGHT Machine-Type monster in my Graveyard, into my Deck!" he said, shuffling one of the Core Dragons into his Deck.

"Now I Tribute Razor to Tribute Summon Cyber Dragon!" he said, Razor burst into particles, which regathered to create Cyber Dragon's form and colours.

 **Cyber Dragon: Level: 5, Machine, Effect, LIGHT, ATK/DEF: 2100/** 1600

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" he yelled, causing the Link Portal to appear again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Machine-Type monsters, including a Cyber Dragon." he said.

"I now set the Link 2 Cyber Dragon Zeiger and Cyber Dragon in the Link Markers!" he yelled, Zeiger split into two, which then turned into twisters, followed by Cyber Dragon. The two that were Zeiger hit the Middle Left and Right, and the Cyber Dragon hit the Middle Bottom.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3 Cyber Nexus Dragon!" he yelled.

Forming out of the portal was a colossal three headed Cyber Dragon, it's design was like that of Zeiger for the body, each head was different. The one of the left was beak like, with 3 eyes on it, they and the same lights on the neck were orange. The one on the right rectangular but the edges were smoothed out, it eyes were purple, as well as its lights and neck. And the middle head's lower jaw was big and had serrated teeth, the upper part was like that of Zegier's. And the lights on it were like Zeiger. On its back were giant wings with no membranes or plating for them, but there was a faint blue glow coming from the frame of the wings. It gave a thunderous mechanical roar was it appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to his Right.

 **Cyber Nexus Dragon: LIGHT [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"Nexus Dragon's effect! For every Cyber Dragon used to Link Summon it, it gains 600 ATK for the rest of the turn!" he explained. "Two were used, as Zeiger is treated as a Cyber Dragon, so Nexus gains 1200 ATK!" he said.

The mechanical three headed dragon roared as it surged with power, Nexus Dragon's ATK: **2200 + 1200 = 3400**.

"Not only that, but Nexus gains additional effect depending on the amount of Cyber Dragons used..." he added.

"Battle! Nexus Dragon attacks Pyrilis!" he ordered, all three heads reared their heads back and charged ball of energy. "I activate the Trap, half Unbreak!" Valcry quickly shouted, her face-down flipped up.

"Not only can my monsters not be destroyed, but battle damage is halved!" she explained. "Hyper Strident Cannon!" he called out, the three heads released their attacks, shooting powerful beams out at Pyrilis.

The Elkryie Link Monster braced herself as the beams hit her, **3100 – 800 = 2300** (Valcry) "Once more! Nexus Dragon can attack twice per turn since I used two Cyber Dragons!" he said.

Once again, Nexus Dragon charged its attacks, aiming for Pyrilis again, and once again, she braced herself as the beams were released. **2300 – 800 = 1500**. (Valcry)

"Damn it!" he swore, he could have ended it this turn if she didn't have that Trap. "I end my turn..." he said slowly, "Nexus Dragon's ATK returns to normal..." he added. **3400 = 2200** (Nexus Dragon)

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 6**

"Finally I can end this now!" she said to herself, "Draw!" she drew her card. "I activate Elemental Spring's effect!" she said.

"I Special Summon Luxanne!" she said, the LIGHT Elkryie monster appearing in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"Now appear! The Circuit that will show me my desires!" she yelled out, the Link Portal appeared above. "Arrowheads confirmed! The conditions are at least 2 Elkryie monsters with different Attributes!" she said.

I set the Link 2 Pyrilis and Luxanne in the Link Markers!" she shouted, the two monsters turning into twisters of their element, Pyrilis's split into two and hit the Top Left and Right Markers, and Luxanne the Middle Bottom.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear! The Guardian of the elements! Link 3 Elkryie Skalrima!" she yelled

The Link Portal released a ray of light, and floating down from it was a powerful monster, she was wearing golden armour, with angelic wings made out of light, her skin was tanned, her eyes were glowing bright white. The armour had various images of different elements all over. In one had she held a giant claymore sword, the guard was golden, the blade silver with six gems fitted along the blade, coloured Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Red and Purple. In her other hand she had a small round shield, also with small gems the same colours as the ones on the blade.

She gave a war cry that sounded a bit distorted, she appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Valcry's Right.

 **Elkryie Skalrima: LIGHT [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↖⬇↗

"Two Markers up… this won't bold well..." Codebuster muttered, he knew the rule about Link Monster, is that if one arrow pointed to your Field, it was powerful… So the more that pointed to your Field… You're in trouble.

"Skalrima gains the Attributes of her Link Materials!" Valcry said, "Elemental Absorption!" she yelled out, a dark portal appeared under Skalrima, and two lights coloured red and yellow shot out, they then made their way to Skalrima's sword and hit the gems of their colours. The same coloured gems on the shield also glowed.

"This gives her extra effects depending on the Attributes she's gained!" she explained.

"Now I activate the effect she gains from FIRE or DARK!" she declared as Skalrima's sword caught ablaze. "I target 1 monster she points to and destroy it!" she said, the only monster Skalrima pointed to was Terricka, who was then caught ablaze, said blaze was absorbed into the Link Monster's weapon, turning the flames a dark purple.

"Now that I've destroyed the monster, you take damage equal to it's original ATK!" she explained, "Punishing Black Fire!" she yelled as Skalrima flung the darkened flames at Codebuster he yelled as he felt the flames cover him. **2600 – 1600 = 1000** (Codebuster)

"Now I activate the Equip Spell, Elkryie's Elemental Sword!" she said, Skalrima's sword began to shift colour to colour. "Whilst equipped with this Spell, The equipped monster gains 200 ATK for every Elkryie monster in my Graveyard with a different Attribute!" she explained. "Currently there are six Elkryie monsters with different Attributes to each other, meaning Skalrima gains 1200 ATK. Skalrima's ATK: **2400 + 200x6 = 1200 = 3600**

" _Crap! I don't have anything to defend myself..._ " Codebuster thought sweating, he looked down at his face-down, it wasn't good in this situation. " _I've lost..._ " he thought shocked as it settled in his head.

"Battle! Skalrima attacks Nexus Dragon! Elemential Slash of Despair!" she yelled, Skalrima raised her fleshy weapon, which started to cycle between red and yellow, she charged and quickly slashed at the roaring dragon, who suddenly stopped.

The second she landed, a large cut appear along the middle the Nexus, it slowly shifted and suddenly the monster exploded, the force hitting Codebuster who yelled as he hit the floor. **1000 – 1400 = 0** (Codebuster)

Codebuster: **LOSE**

Valcry: **WINS**

"Looks like you boys won't get the chance to beat him now..." Valcry said smirking walking over to the downed Codebuster, the other members soon followed her, and stood around him as he stirred.

"Damn that hurt..." he groaned, he would feel that in the real world. He looked up and saw them all smiling at him. "Before you do what ever you want, why?" he asked, confusing them.

"Why what?" Ares asked, "Why are you doing this?" he asked, "What do you lot gain from working with cyber-terrorist?!" he asked louder.

"That's not your concern…" Talon said, "What should be is your last seconds in this world..." Valcry said, reaching down to touch his face. "Good bye… Codebuster." she said, her finger just a centremeter away.

But suddenly a bright light appeared in the sky, stopping her and making all five look up at it. Just then the winds started to pick up, a moment later a tornado of data appeared, and it was huge!

The force from it was too strong, making the knights grabbed onto the floor, Codebuster did the same as to not to sucked in.

"Gotta… Hold… On!..." he groaned out,

As the seconds passed by the tornado's force got more and more powerful, until it was too much for any of them.

The first to go was Ares, then Vire, then Talon, and then Codebuster and Valcry at the same time. "WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Codebuster screamed out as he was sucked into the vortex.

Else where, both Playmaker and Revolver, whose Duel had ended in a Draw were also sucked into the vortex…

* * *

 **With Akira…**

Akira having watched the entire Duel between Playmaker and Revolver, was shocked at what happened, especially when the camera feed ended. "What happened to them!?" he asked Ghost Girl.

"They were sucked into the tornado, even Codebuster and the other knights!" Ghost Girl said to him, she had just caught a glimpse of Codebuster being sucked in.

"Go after them, Ghost Girl!" he ordered, "Don't be crazy! I can't see a thing in there!" she cried out, suddenly the link went silent, all he could hear was static.

He slowly looked to his unconscious sister, "Aoi..." he muttered, "Playmaker… _please save her._ " he thought…

* * *

 **The Eye of the Data storm…**

Just shooting out of the wind wall was Codebuster, "Whoa Whoa Whoa!" he yelled as he hit solid ground and rolled a few times, before coming to a stop on his stomach. "Oww..." he groaned in pain, he slowly and carefully got to his knees and opened his eyes slowly.

"Where am I?" he said to himself, rubbing his head. The more he looked he saw that he was somewhere new.

The area around him was eerily quiet, floating pieces of debris here and there, and around him was a circle of data that was turning.

"Is this… The eye of the Data Storm that swallowed us?" he asked, getting up fully.

"This is his field." he heard someone say, "Huh? Someone's here with me?" he said, he followed the direction the voice came from and looked down.

Down below he spotted Revolver standing by the edge of a floating bit of debris, behind him was Ares and the others. And gently floating down to them was Playmaker.

"I'm guessing this means Playmaker didn't win..." he said to himself, he then jumped down to another piece of debris where he also saw Playmaker land the opposite of Revolver.

You arrived, Playmaker." Revolver said, "Look around, this is the scene for our new battle." he said. Codebuster suddenly looked up as he saw a small light descend from above Revolver.

"We'll settle this in a Master Duel." he said, just then the layout for a Master Duel appeared between the two.

"Makes sense, you can do more with Link Monster's in a Master Duel as you have more room for moves..." Codebuster said to himself. Just then the light that he saw before get closer to Revolver who raised his Duel Disk arms and the light went into it.

"A card to power up his Master Duel." he heard Playmaker say.

"It's time to end this! Let's begin!" Revolver said. "Good luck Playmaker… You'll need it..." Codebuster said.

"DUEL!" both Revolver and Playmaker shouted, drawing 5 cards each…

End of Chapter 8

* * *

 **Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this, but things got in the way of time writing this story. Anyways, I hope to get back into this more sooner…**

 **Also there is one Hanoi OC Slot lefted, but a friend of mine jalen johnson has made an OC for that slot, but he already has a slot for Season 2, but if by the end of Playmaker's first master Duel against Revolver is over, then that last slot will go to them.**

 **So if you do want that last slot, better think of an OC and PM it to me…**

 **OC cards**

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Cyberdark Rage**

 **Normal Trap**

When a Dragon-Type monster equipped to a "Cyberdark" monster is destroyed: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed equipped monster's ATK.

 **Cyberdark Razor Dragon**

 **DARK [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

2 Machine-Type monsters, including a "Cyberdark" monster

When this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon-Type in your Graveyard; equip it onto this card. This card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the equipped monster. Once per turn, target 1 monster this card points, depending on who controls it: You: That monster gains ATK equal to half this card's current ATK until the end of the turn. Your opponent: That monster loses ATK and DEF equal to half this card's current ATK until the end of the turn. If this card would be destroyed by battle, destroy the equipped monster or a monster this card points to instead.

 **Cyber Nexus Dragon**

 **LIGHT [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

2+ Machine-Type monsters, including "Cyber Dragon"

For every "Cyber Dragon" used to Link Summon this card: This card gains 600 ATK until the end of the turn. This card gains the following effects, depending on the number of "Cyber Dragon(s)" used to Link Summon this card: -1) Once per turn, when this card destroys a monster: Target 1 monster this card points: it gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK until the end of the turn. -2) This card can make a second attack during each battle phase -3) Once per turn, target 1 monster this card points to: Double it's ATK until the end of the turn, but battle damage is half this turn if you do.

 **(Valcry)**

 **Elkryie Tenebrisena**

 **DARK, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/1300**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. When this card destroys a monster by battle: Target 1 card your opponent controls, send it to the GY. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Tenebrisena". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Tenebrisena" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Terricka**

 **EARTH, [Level: 3 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/700**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. If this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower "Elkryie" monster from your Hand, but return it to your Hand at the end of the turn. Target 1 monster your opponent controls, half it's DEF until the end of the turn. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Terricka". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Terricka" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Ventina**

 **WIND, Level: 2 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/1200**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. When an "Elkryie" monster battles a monster with higher ATK: (Quick Effect) Negate that battle, and if you do, send that battling monster to the Graveyard, but Special Summon it at the end of the turn. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Terricka". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Terricka" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Ignira**

 **FIRE, Level: 3 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1500 DEF/1000**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. When your opponent activate their monster's effect: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. When an "Elkryie" monster destroys a monster by battle: Inflict 100 damage to your opponent for every face-up "Elkryie" card on the field. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Ignira". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Ignira" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Aqualin**

 **WATER, Level: 1 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/500 DEF/800**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. During either turn, should you take damage from a battle or card effect: Tribute this card from your Hand or Field: Negate that damage, and if you do; gain Life Points equal to that negated damage. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Aqualin". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Aqualin" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Luxanne**

 **LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/1000**

If this card is added to your Hand by the effect on an "Elkryie" card: You can Special Summon it. When this card battles: it gains 200 ATK for every "Elkryie" monster on the Field. When your opponent adds a card(s) to their Hand: Half this card's original ATK, and if you do; destroy those cards. If this card is destroyed by battle: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand other than "Elkryie Luxanne". You can only activate the effects of 1 "Elkryie Luxanne" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Match-Up**

 **Normal Spell**

Target 1 monster on the Field: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand that is the same attribute as the targeted monster. You can only activate 1 "Elkryie Match-Up" once per turn.

 **Elkryie Elemental Springs**

 **Continous Spell**

Once per turn, target 1 "Elkryie" monster in your GY whose attribute is not the same as any you control on the Field: Special Summon it.

 **Elkryie's Elemental Sword**

 **Equip-Spell**

Equip this card only onto "Elkryie" monsters. The equipped monster gains 200 for every "Elkryie" monster in your GY with a different Attribute. When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle: Banish 1 "Elkryie" monster from your GY that is the same Attribute as the destroyed monster; this card can make a second attack this Battle Phase.

 **Elkryies's Combined Guard**

 **Normal Trap**

When a "Elkryie" monster is attacked: Target 1 other "Elkryie" monster you control; add half that monster's ATK onto the battling "Elkryie" monster.

 **Elkryie Retreating Reaction**

 **Normal Trap**

At the end of the turn that two or more "Elkryie" monsters are destroyed and sent to the GY: Return all destroyed monsters to your Deck or Extra Deck, then draw a card for every returned monster, then shuffle your Deck. You can banish this card from your Graveyard: Add 1 "Elkryie" monster from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Elkryie Flurrika**

 **WIND [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/800 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

1 Level 3 or lower "Elkryie" monster

If this card is Link Summoned using a WIND "Elkryie" monster as Link Material, this card gains this effect: Once per turn, when this card deals battle damage to your opponent: Shuffle 1 card in your opponent's GY into their Deck, then both of you draw a card, but if that card is the same as the shuffled card, banish them. This card can attack your opponent directly, but half battle damage. During the damage calculation of your turn, tribute the monster this card points to, and if you do, double this card's original ATK until the end of the turn.

 **Elkryie Pyrilis**

 **FIRE [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/LINK: 1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

2 "Elkryie" monsters

If this card is Link Summoned using a FIRE "Elkryie" monster as Link Material, this card gains this effect: Any time a monster leaves the field that pointed to a Link Monster: Inflict 100 damage to your opponent x the number of cards on the Field. Once per turn, target 1 other "Elkryie monster on the Field: That monster cannot declare an attack, but this card gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK until the end of the turn. As long as this card is in the Extra Monster Zone: "Elkryie" monsters you control can inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent.

 **Elkryie Skalrima**

 **LIGHT [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↖⬇↗

2+ "Elkryie" monsters with different Attributes

This card gains its Link Material's Attributes. This card gains the following effects, depending on this card's gained Attributes: WIND/WATER: When a "Elkryie" monster is attacking or attacked: (Quick Effect) Tribute one monster this card points to; negate that attack, and if you do, gain Life Points equal to half the ATK of the tributed monster. FIRE/DARK: Target 1 monster this card points to: Destroy it, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK. EARTH/LIGHT: Tribute 1 other "Elkryie" monster you control: Draw 2 cards, if any our "Elkryie" monsters, you can Special Summon one of them, then send the top card of your opponent's Deck to the GY. You can only activate each effect of "Elkryie Skalrima" once per turn.

 **Also, yes I had Codebuster lose, I'm not going to have him win all his Duels, he'll win most but not all… With his Cyber Deck, he has a 75% chance of winning most of the time, with his Weirdware Deck, it's 90%**

 **I don't want him to be like Yusei or Yusaku, who seem to always win, I would like to see Playmaker lose one duel just once… of course not during anything serious and that won't halt the plot at all. Just a Duel where nothing is on the line, that's all.**

 **Anyways, I'll try and be back sooner than later…. So See Ya! And again, if you want that last Hanoi OC Slot or the last slot for season 2... Well you know...**


	9. Chapter 9: More than meets the eye

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts_ "

* * *

"DUEL!" Both Playmaker and Revolver shouted drawing 5 cards each.

Revolver's LP: **4000**

Playmaker's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'll go first." Revolver said, swiping his hand to the side to see his cards in front of him. "I activate the Field Spell, Fire Prison!" he said selecting the card.

Starting to appear above was a crest of some kind, that started to grow vines as well as metal, a few moments later a giant birdcage eveloped the two Duelist.

"So long as I have this card, Dragon-Types on my Field gain 300 DEF." he said, "And if we want to Link Summon a monster, its Link Rating must be equal or higher than the highest Link Monster's Rating on the Field. Only Link Monster's can attack. And this card can't be destroyed by other card's effects!" he added.

"That's a tricky card to get by, Playmaker will need to be careful." Codebuster muttered to himself.

"Fire Prison..." Playmaker muttered, "Is that the card he just got?" Ai wondered, "Limiting Link Summons is going to be a problem!" he exclaimed. "Not only that, but I sense an eerie power that's even worse." Playmaker added.

"I Summon Sniffer Dragon!" Revolver said touching the card in front of him, appearing on the his field was a bipedal small dragon, its scales were dark red, and it's under belly was a pale yellow, on its upper thighs, wrist, torso, head and the tip of its tail was was dark grey armor. It was Summoned to Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Sniffer Dragon: DARK Level: 2 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/** 400 + 300 700

"Sniffer Dragon's effect activates!" he said, Sniffer Dragon glowed purple for a moment, "When Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a Sniffer Dragon from my Deck to my Hand." he said doing just that.

"Next I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Quick Revolve!" he said, "I Special Summon 1 Rokket monster from my Deck." he said, adding the card to his Hand quickly, "Appear, Magnarokket Dragon!" he shouted.

Appearing next to Sniffer Dragon in the Middle Main Monster Zone was a serpent like dragon in blue armor with some dark yellow,red and metallic grey here and there. It had light green sharp wings on its back and two small ones on its tail. It's forehead was elongated forward and shaped like a bullet casing.

 **Magnarokket Dragon: DARK, Level: 4 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/1800/** 1200 + 3001500

"Huh? He never used that card monster before." Ai said, "He must be using his real Deck." Playmaker deduced.

"Appear! The future Circuit that lights up my path!" Revolver yelled out, right hand in the air, causing sparks to erupt and shot into the air causing the Link Portal to appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are two Level 4 or lower Dragon-types." he said, "I now set Sniffer Dragon and Magnarokket Dragon in the Link Markers!" he declared.

Sniffer and Magnarokket Dragon both swirled into whirlwinds, Sniffer Dragon hit the Middle Bottom marker and Magnarokket hit the Middle Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Twin Triangle Dragon!" he shouted, as materialising from red data was a slim cybernetic dragon, it's scale were mostly a dark grey, with some darken pink, it had two horns that went backward. Its wrist were three sided pyramids and near the base on them was a floating triangles made on a golden metal, its tail was also triangular shaped. It was Summoned the Extra Monster Zone to Revolver's Right.

 **Twin Triangle Dragon: DARK [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK/1200 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬇➡

"Then I Special Summon Beltlink Wall Dragon from my Hand!" he said, appearing on the Field was long serpent dragon, most of its body was covered with bullet shells, near the head was its arms, they were skeletal, and had five fingers each clutching a green orbs in them, there was a second set of arms like them a bit lower on the body. It head was also skeletal, it had 4 red beady eyes, two above the other two, and had two bony whiskers, the head was surrounded by more bullets with two bigger one as horns. On the end of its tail was a Gatling gun, it was Summoned in Defense in the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Twin Triangle Dragon.

 **Beltlink Wall Dragon: EARTH, Level: 6 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/2100 + 300 = 2400**

Playmaker was shocked at the monster that appeared, more shocked that it was in Defense, "I can Special Summon this card when a Link Monster is Summoned to my Field." Revolver told them, he then jumped and landed on the dragons long body.

"And when this card is Summoned this way, it gains 2 Wall Counters." he added, as he said this, two of Beltlink's eyes suddenly glowed. Beltlink Wall Dragon's Counter Count (Wall): **0 + 2 = 2**.

"Neither of us can Summon a Link Monster whose Link Rating is higher than the number of Wall Counters on Beltlink. And only Link Monsters can attack." he explained, confusing Codebuster.

"That doesn't make sense, why tell Playmaker all this, when he would find out eventually by trying?" he asked himself as he watched, he then glanced at the cage they were in. "That thing is giving me a bad feeling as well." he added.

"I end my turn." Revolver said, "No face-downs, well it does make sense his defenses are tough, but Playmaker should be able to get pass, right?" Codebuster asked himself.

Revolver's Hand x 2

 **Turn 2**

"My Turn! I draw!" Playmaker shouted drawing his card. "Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect!" Revolver quickly shouted out, "During each of our turns, it gains a Wall Counter!" he said, a third eye on the dragon lit up. **2 + 1 = 3** (Beltlink)

"It was careless to let him go first!" Ai said, looking to be crying, suddenly his eye expression turned serious, "Due to both Fire Prison and Beltlink Wall Dragon, he has the advantage in Link Summoning. Only Link 2 and 3 can be Summoned to the Field." he said.

Playmaker already knew this, wandering where the Ai was going with this, but he ignored him and started his turn. "I Special Summon Linkslayer!" he said. Linkslayer then appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Linkslayer: EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 600

"I can Special Summon this card from my Hand when I control no monsters on my Field." he told his opponent.

"Nice! Linkslayer has more ATK than Twin Triangle Dragon!" Ai cheered out, "But only Link Monsters can attack due to Beltlink's effect..." Playmaker added, ruining the AI's cheering. "And Fire Prison can't be destroyed by other effects, meaning Linkslayer's effect is also useless..." he further added.

"I Special Summon Backup Secretary!" he said placing the card onto his blade, appearing in the Middle Main Monster was Backup Secretary in Attack.

 **Backup Secretary: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 800

"This card can be Special Summoned from my Hand while I control a Cyberse-Type monster on the Field." he said, "Next I Normal Summon Stack Reviver!" he said, now appearing in the Left Main Monster Zone was the small data stack monster.

 **Stack Reviver: DARK, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/100 DEF/** 600

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the future!" he yelled out, sparks flew from his right hand, causing the Link Portal to appear again.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least 2 Cyberse monsters!" he said, "I now set Backup Secretary, Linkslayer and Stack Reviver in the Link Markers!" he said.

The three monsters having heard this, twirled into twisters, Secretary hit the Middle Top, Linkslayer the Middle Bottom, and Stack Reviver the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 3! Encode Talker!" he said, appearing from the portal was the Light Attribute Code Talker, his shield armed and ready to fight and defend with. He landed in the Extra Monster to Playmaker's Right, opposite of Twin Triangle Dragon.

 **Encode Talker: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆⬇↘

" _It's the new Code Talker he got during his Speed Duel against Blue Angel..._ " Codebuster thought, a memory of that Duel's outcome suddenly flashed before his eyes, he quickly shock it away.

"Stack Reviver's effect from the Graveyard!" Playmaker shouted, "When used to Link Summon, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse-Type from my Graveyard! Resurrect, Backup Secretary!" he said. Secretary then appeared in the Far Right Main Monster Zone linked to Encode Talker in Defense.

"Battle! Encode Talker attacks Twin Triangle Dragon!" he declared, with the Code Talker about to swing his shield. "That's not possible!" Revolver quickly said, "What?" a shocked Playmaker said, with Codebuster shocked as well, Playmaker had met the requirements, being that only Link Monsters can declare an attack. So why-

"Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect!" Revolver said, interrupting his thought, the orbs that Beltlink was holding in its claws started to shine. "Your Link Monster is only allowed to attack this card!" he said, shocking the three.

Encode Talker fired a beam from his shield, aimed right at Twin Triangle Dragon, but just before it hit the monster, it made a right angle and hit Beltlink. However with Beltlink's DEF higher than Encode's ATK, it survived releasing a shockwave that hit Playmaker, who braced himself as he glowed. Playmaker's LP: **4000 – 100 = 3900**.

"But now I Special Summon Interrupt Resistor from my Hand!" Playmaker said, after placing the card onto his blade and new monster appeared.

It was white in overall colour, with some black lines over the body, there was also some green circuitry, on each side of both of its heels were two small pads with a green orb. It had a cape on its back, that was connected to both of its biceps, on its hips were two light blue crystals. It's face was bird like, and in each hand was a small hi-tech blade. It was Summoned in Defense in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Interrupt Resistor: LIGHT, Level: 6 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/2100**

"This card gains ATK equal to the damage I took in battle." he said, Interrupt Resistor's ATK: **0 + 100 = 100**.

"I now activate the Spell, Cyberse Cache!" he played the spell, "When there's a Cyberse-Type on my Field whose ATK is different than its original ATK, I draw two cards!" he said, drawing that many.

"Great, not only has he strengthened is defenses, but also his Hand..." Mars said annoyed, "Like that will stop Master Revolver..." Valcry said, "He has got that card after all..." she added smirking.

"I set a card and end my turn!" Playmaker said, not having heard any of that, but Codebuster did.

"What card are they on about?" he asked himself as Playmaker's card appeared face-down, then faded.

Playmaker's Hand x 2

 **Turn 3**

" _Interesting… He knew that he couldn't get past Beltlink Wall Dragon, but he instead ensured that he's prepared for his next Link Summon._ " Revolver thought, Playmaker really was 2 steps head against his opponents… But he was no opponent that Playmaker has faced before though…

" _That strategy will cost him his life in the end… Time for your destiny to meet its end._ " he added, "My turn! I draw!" he shouted drawing his card.

"Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect! Another Wall Counter is placed on it!" he said, Beltlink Wall Dragon's final eye lit up now. **3 + 1 = 4** (Beltlink)

"Now I Normal Summon Autorokket Dragon!" he said touching the card, appearing on his Field in the Middle Main Monster Zone was a new Rokket monster, it was serpent like Magnarokket, but its colour scheme was copper brown. It had four green orbs over its body, two on it exposed shoulders, and the other two on its gauntlet like claws. Its chest area was cylinder like and flatish It had green circuitry like lines on it main body, and a horse shoe shaped bit of metal near where its hips would be. Its tail was segmented and the tip was arrow shaped and covered with green energy. It had wings similar to Magnarokket, and its forehead was missile shaped.

 **Autorokket Dragon: DARK, Level: 3 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000 + 300 =1300

"Appear! The future Circuit that lights up my path!" he yelled out, making the Link Portal appear again.

"He going to Link Summon again! And to make this worse, he can go up to Link 4!" Ai panicked, thinking back to the terrifying but also powerful monster he brought from their Speed Duel a little while ago.

"Topologic Bomber Dragon..." Playmaker muttered, thinking the same thing, the name confused Codebuster however, seeing that he hadn't watch their Duel, being busy with his own.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two monsters." Revolver said, "I set the Link 2 Twin Triangle Dragon and Autorokket Dragon in the Link Markers!" he declared, this made the two monster swirl into twisters, with Twin Triangle Dragon's one splitting into two.

These two hit the Middle Top and Middle Bottom, and Autorokket Dragon hit the Middle Left, turning them red. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 3! Three Burst Blast Dragon!"

Appearing from red data was a dragon similar to the Rokket monsters, it was red and black, it's chest was like Autorokket's chest, slight bigger and horizontal and had a grey piece at the bottom. Its tail was red and black for about four times, its shoulder pads had three small spikes on them, most of its arms were black with a red bit for its hands, each with five silver grey claws. There were three cannon barrels, one in its chest, and the other two side by side as its shoulders. It had 4 small energy wings like the Rokket monsters, it had a long neck and the head has a single lens for the eye, and had lots on sharp teeth giving the dragon a grin. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone Twin Triangle Dragon was in before.

 **Three Burst Blast Dragon: DARK [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆⬅⬇

"Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect! By Link Summoning a Link Monster whose Rating is less than the amount of Wall Counters on it, 2 Wall Counters are removed from it." he said, the top two eyes of Beltlink Wall Dragon suddenly dimmed. **4 – 2 = 2** (Beltlink)

"Huh? He didn't Summon Topologic?" Ai said, expecting the dragon to be Summoned, "Why would he need a powerful monster to deal with you?!" Vire laughed out hysterically.

"Battle! Three Burst Blast Dragon attacks Backup Secretary!" Revolver ordered, the dragons lens shifted gaze and turned its head at Backup Secretary, "Attacking a monster in Defense, meaning it can deal piercing damage." Codebuster deduced to himself as the dragon took aim and charged its attack.

"Encode Talker's effect!" Playmaker shouted, "When a monster linked to it battles a monster with higher ATK, the battle damage from the battle becomes 0, and the linked monster is not destroyed in the battle either!" he said.

"Not good enough!" Revolver yelled out, "Three Burst Blast Dragon's effect! Once per turn during battle, it can negate the activation of a monster, Spell or Trap's effect!" he said, shocking his opponent.

"Ha! But that effect can only be used once!" Ai declared, "Interrupt Resistor's effect! When my monster in Defense battles, its DEF become the same as this card's DEF and battle destruction is negated!" he said.

Interrupt Resister glowed and squawked, with Backup Secretary gaining a blue glow quickly. Backup Secretary's DEF: **800 = 2100**. (Backup Secretary)

"But Three Burst Blast Dragon can deal piercing battle damage!" Revolver mentioned, like Codebuster had guessed, you don't attack a monster in Defense for no reason…

"Precision Lane!" he yelled out, all three of the dragon's cannons fired a purple beam, each heading for Backup Secretary, she survived, but the shockwave from the blast hit Playmaker, making him glow yelled again. **3900 – 300 = 3600** (Playmaker)

"I end my turn." he said, still no face-downs on his Field, "He must be awfully confident to not make precautions..." Codebuster growled out, hating people like that.

"Backup Secretary's DEF returns to normal!" Revolver finished, as that in fact happened, **2100 = 800** (Backup Secretary)

Revolver's Hand x 2

 **Turn 4**

"What's his deal? Why didn't he bring out Topologic?" Ai asked his partner/captor annoyed, "His goal might be different from what we expected..." Playmaker concluded.

"Since he didn't bring out Topologic, he still has monsters on his Field..." he said, "Meaning he may bring out a different stronger monster later!" Ai finished for him. "Gosh that's scary!" he whimpered out.

"It's your turn, Playmaker!" Revolver said, wanting to get to destroying him quicker, Playmaker nodded, "My turn! I draw!" he shouted drawing his card.

"Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect! Another Wall Counter is placed on it!" Revolver said, **2 + 1 = 3** (Beltlink) "Beltlink Wall Dragon is getting in the way!" Ai cried out annoyed, "I know! I'll go for it this turn!" Playmaker declared.

"I Normal Summon Balancer Lord!" he said, after placing the card onto his blade the new monster appeared, it was an armoured knight like monster, the main body was black with the light green circuitry, its upper chest was covered with shiny chrome armour, as was its helmet, the visor on it was v shaped. It was wearing some kind of shorts and some boots, it held a unique sword in its right hand and in the other a shield just as unique as its sword. Over its body were purple gems. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Balancer Lord: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 1200

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the future!" he yelled out, the Link Portal appeared for a fourth time. "The Summoning conditions are at least 2 Effect monsters! I set Balancer Lord, Interrupt Resistor and Backup Secretary in the Link Markers!" he said.

The three monsters, twirled into twisters, Balancer Lord hit the Middle Top, Interrupt Resistor the Bottom Left, and Backup Secretary the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Decode Talker!" he shouted, Decode Talker appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone linked to Encode Talker.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"Decode Talker gains 500 ATK for every monster it points to! Power Integration!" he said, Decode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 500 = 2800.**

"Yes! Now Decode Talker's ATK is higher than Beltlink's DEF! He can destroy it!" Codebuster cheered, smiling now that Blue Angel's chance of coming out of her coma was higher. Apparently Ai had said and thought the same thing as him.

"Are you so sure about that?!" Revolver suddenly said, grinning, as were the rest of the knights. "What!?" Playmaker said, "I was waiting for this moment!" he added.

"The Field Spell, Fire Prison's effect activates!" he shouted shocking the three, suddenly the crest on the cage lit up, temporarily blinding Playmaker and Codebuster. It then began to rain light particles.

"What's happening?" Playmaker asked, "Cyberse-type monsters on the Field, in your Graveyard and Hand lose their effects and can no longer attack!" Revolver declared shocking them.

"Cyberse can also no longer be targeted for effects or attacks!" he added, shocking them again, "That means… Playmaker is a sitting duck!" Codebuster shouted, making the knights smirk more. "This means the Cyberse technically don't exist at this moment!" Revolver said.

At this, the Code Talkers began to glitch and fizzle, this shocked their owner greatly, "T-T-They're really vanishing!" he stuttered.

"P-P-Plll-aayyma-a-a-ker!" Ai managed to get out, having looked down at his Duel Disk Playmaker was shocked that Ai seemed to be affected also.

"M—My se-nses ar-e-e… Go-ing-ing-ing… Dark-k-k-k" Ai slowly got out, his voice distorting and faded, as was his eye from the Duel Disk… until it was gone.

"Now vanish Cyberse!" Revolver shouted, the moment he said this both the Code Talker vanished from sight, as did Playmaker's Duel Disk screen go black.

"Ai..." Playmaker muttered, not believing this to be possible… Neither could Codebuster, he then glared and growled at Revolver, "You bastard! You never mentioned that effect before!" he shouted at the leader.

"Of course I didn't, it was necessary for the plan..." Revolver said to him, still grinning. "Now all that's left is to deal with you… Playmaker." he said grinning…

"You slimy little scum-" "Codebuster!" a voice shouted, cutting Codebuster off, "Huh?" he said looking behind, then softly glared at the being that called him out as they gently floated down near him, "Ghost Girl..." he whispered out with venom.

"Didn't expect you to be in here with them." she said landing next to him, several of her drones floating around her, "Neither did I expect you to get in with us..." Codebuster retorted, "Playmaker's ally must have gotten you in..." he guessed, "Oh so you already knew about him then?" she asked.

"So how is he doing?" she asked looked towards the duel, "Not so well now..." he said, then briefly told her the situation.

"Why didn't you play Topologic Bomber Dragon!?" Playmaker asked frustrated, Revolver chuckled, "This is what happens when you rely on Ignis." he said, "Ignis?" the hero asked, "So you don't even know what the AI is then?" he asked.

"Well I think I should tell you before you lose..." he said, setting Playmaker off slight with those last two words, not that anyone noticed. This alerted to two hunters above.

"Ignis are no ordinary AI..." he began, "Since long ago, there have been tests to create life within the network. But only regular Ai were able to be created. But they lacked something to truly be considered a life form." he said.

"What do you mean?" Playmaker asked, curious, as were the two hunters, and the knights, they had heard this before, but it still fascinated them. "Free will..." was all he said.

" _Free will? Where does that come in with an AI?_ " Codebuster thought, "Even in humans, we have no clue as to where free will resides in our bodies. However… Someone was able to create it in a program. He achieved what God did." he said.

"In ancient mythology, God gave heaven's forbidden fire to humanity. Said fire quickly evolved into mankind." he carried on, "Modeled after the myth, he named the new life form, the 'Ignis'." he said, "Ignis is an AI with free will." he finished.

Shocked by this, the three, including a watching Shoichi and Akira Zaizen, thanks to Ghost Girls camera.

"Ai with free will!? Not possible! Free will cannot be broken down into a program." Codebuster retorted, "He's right, a program cannot have free will!" Playmaker agreed.

"I knew you'd react this way, any one without proof would deny the truth." Revolver mocking said, "It however doesn't matter if you believe it to be true or not. The Ignis created the Cyberse to try and conquer the network." he added.

"The Knights of Hanoi will do whatever it takes to kill the Ignis and the Cyberse!" he declared, "End you turn! Playmaker!" he shouted, his opponent flinched slightly, and did what he was told, there was nothing he could do at the moment. "I end my turn." he slowly said, still processing the information.

Playmaker's Hand x 2

 **Turn 5**

"Now to continue this Duel and end you, Playmaker! My turn! I draw!" Revolver yelled out, drawing his card. "Beltlink Wall Dragon's effect! I place a Wall Counter on it!" he said, all of Beltlink's eyes glowed, **3 + 1 = 4** (Beltlink)

"Great! Now he can go up to Link 4!" Codebuster gritted out. "Next, Three Burst Blast Dragon's effect!" he said, "By tributing this card, I can Special Summon a Link 2 Monster from my Graveyard!" he said as the mentioned monster burst into particles.

"I can also Special Summon a Dragon-Type from my Hand!" he added, Resurrect, Twin Triangle Dragon from my Graveyard!" he said as the mentioned monster appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

"And from my Hand, Sniffer Dragon!" he said, a second copy of Sniffer Dragon appeared in the Far Right Main Monster Zone in Attack.

"Sniffer Dragon's effect! When Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a Sniffer Dragon from my Deck to my Hand!" he said doing just that.

"I now Normal Summon my third Sniffer Dragon!" he said as the third and final Sniffer Dragon appeared the Left Main Monster Zone.

"Four monsters..." Playmaker muttered. "Appear! The future Circuit that lights up my path!" Revolver yelled out. The Link Portal appeared again.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least three Effect monsters!" he said, "I now set the Link 2 Twin Triangle Dragon and the two Sniffer Dragons in the Link Markers!" he declared.

Twin Triangle Dragon split into two, which then turned into twisters, followed by the Sniffer Dragons. The Link monster twisters hit the Bottom Left and Right, and two Sniffer Dragons hit the Middle Left and Right, turning them red.

"He's bringing it out!" Vire cheered hysterically, he had only seen this monster once.

"Circuit Combine!" he yelled as the monster took form. " _My new wind that pierces through the closed world!_ Link Summon!" he chanted, "Appear! Link 4 Borreload Dragon!" he yelled.

After fully formed, the new monster was revealed, it was a mechanical dragon, it's body was mostly red and silver, on its tail were several bands with green energy between them. Its wings main structure were curved, the ends of them each had a flap, the wings themselves were made out of energy similar to the Rokket monsters. Its arms resembled something close to gun barrels, It torso was an actual gun chamber. It had a long neck, where its fearsome looking head was mounted, it had a pair of jagged horns above, and two tusk like horns resting on its lower jaws. Its eyes flashed, signalling it awaken, which it added by giving out a powerful roar as it appeared in the Extra Monster to Revolver's Right.

 **Borreload Dragon: DARK [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅↙↘➡

"My god..." Codebuster said stunned at the sheer power and size of the monster that appeared, meanwhile Playmaker stared at the dragon, remembering something.

"Its that dragon from before..." he said, remembering seeing the silhouette of the creature from when he and Kusanagi tried to access Ai's data, him rushing outside, as he somehow saw it appear in the real world through the virtual world.

"It must be his ace." he muttered, "You bet it is Playmaker!" Valcry shouted grinning ear to ear. "Due to Fire Prison's effect, your Cyberse have vanished..." Revolver said, hinting at his next move.

"Battle! Go, Borreload Dragon! Attack him directly!" he ordered, Borreload's gun chamber began to spin at high speed, causing friction, sparks and energy, said energy began travelling around the entire dragon's body. "Charging energy! Barrel mode change!" he said, as the dragon's maw opened wider, causing a gun barrel to extend out, it's targeting system set its eyes on Playmaker. "Target, locked on!" they heard Revolver say. He then pressed a button on his clear mask, darken it. "Anti glare protection!" he said, the other knights behind them changed their lens to be like Revolvers.

"I suggest we look away..." Codebuster said, Ghost Girl nodding in agreement, but they didn't. "Final safety removed!" Revolver said, Borreload's wing flaps went down and fitted to the curved frame, the energy for the wings vanishing.

"Take this! Thunder Barrel Cannon!" Revolver yelled out, the dragon finally fired its attack, literally shooting a bullet at the defensless Playmaker, the attack hit him dead on, causing a huge explosion and causing a line of dust to erupt, the attack continued past him and made its way out of the Data Storm.

Codebuster and Ghost Girl braced themselves as best as they could, Playmaker was screaming as he was launched backwards, nearly falling off the ledge. **3600 – 3000 = 600** (Playmaker) "Playmaker!" Codebuster yelled out to him, but he didn't stir for a while.

Revolver and the knights removed their Anti glare and shades respectively. "I end my turn." Revolver said smirking.

Revolver's Hand x 2

 **Turn 6**

"Playmaker..." Codebuster said, again he didn't stir, "Don't bother, it seems this match ended before his LP ran out." the Hanoi leader taunted. "Shut it you bastard! If it wasn't for that card you got, this would be playing out differently!" Codebuster spat at him, Revolver looked towards him, and just smirked.

"That's right..." they heard, everyone turned back to the downed Playmaker, who was finally conscious, struggling to get up. "Three." he said out loud, a few moments later, he was up again, albeit, struggling to stay up.

"I can still fight!" he declared. "Playmaker..." Codebuster said, relieved he was up again. "Oh? I failed to erase his fighting spirit." Revolver said, earning himself a glare from Codebuster.

"My turn! I draw!" Playmaker shouted, drawing his card, however he started to staggered, still recovering from the attack. As he thought of how to get out of this, he felt a pulse, he looked down to see his Duel Disk glowing.

With Codebuster, he too felt a small pulse, not sure what it was, but then his Duel Disk's screen began to glow, he was unaware of this though.

"The Cyberse's fire hasn't been extinguished yet!" Playmaker suddenly said, "Ai, are you there? Can you hear me?" he said to his Duel Disk.

"I know you're there, so lend me your strength!" he said, he then took a card from his Hand, "I activate the Field Spell, Cynet Universe!" he said. "Link Monsters on my Field gain 300 ATK!" he explained.

"No matter what you try, its pointless. The Cyberse are already gone" Revolver retorted. Playmaker closed his eyes, "Your wrong. The Cyberse are still here. I can hear their pulse!" Playmaker declared, eyes opening, his words made Revolver flinch.

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the future!" Playmaker shouted, the Link portal appeared above them, shocking the knights. "What are you doing?" Revolver asked shocked, he didn't think he would do this.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two monsters!" Playmaker said, "I set the Link 3 Decode Talker and Encode Talker in the Link Markers!" he declared.

Suddenly appearing back on Playmaker's field were the two Code Talkers, before Decode Talker split into three, they and Encode turned into twisters of energy and began to make their way to the Link Portal, the very act shocked them all.

"You're using your two ace monsters!?" Revolver got out, the three Decode Talkers hit the Middle Left, Right, Top, and Encode hit the Middle Bottom, they all turned red.

"Circuit Combine! Here I go, Revolver! This is the Cyberse newest potental!" Playmaker yelled, the monster being summoned began to take form.

"Link Summon! Appear, Link 4!" the monster began taking shape. "Firewall Dragon!" he yelled, after the monster was completed, it burst out of the Link Portal, showing everyone present its form.

It was a cybernetic dragon, its colour scheme was white, grey-blue, blue, and dark blue for most of the monster. It had golden spheres attached to its body, neck, wing parts and its limbs. There were flat ring bits on the tips of its wings, its elbows, end of its tail, the back of its feet and one atop of its head. It chest piece stuck out, making it look like a port of some kind. The dark blue parts of its body was covered with blue lines, making it look like scales. And finally it had cybernetic red eyes that glowed. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's Right.

 **Firewall Dragon: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅⬆➡⬇

As the dragon fully appeared and landed, Codebuster's Duel Disk began to glow stronger, making him notice it. "Huh? What's going on?" he shouted panicked, this alerted everyone, a moment later, a beam of pale blue shot out of the Disk and covered the new dragon, it began to cover the entire beast, as though scanning it...

* * *

Within Matoyia's bedroom, he was silently in his chair, a data sphere around him to confirm he was inside Link VRAINS. It was quiet… Until his computer set mysteriously booted itself up somehow, after fully booting up, it began running some programs. One program began to receive something, and the program next to it had a layout for a Link Monster card…

* * *

A few moments later, the beam stopped, along with the glow, "What just happened..." Codebuster muttered staring at his Disk confused.

" _What just happened with_ _his_ _Duel Disk?_ " Revolver thought to himself, he too was confused at what had happened, his best guest was that Codebuster's Weirdware Deck was involved, just a hunch.

He then turned back to Playmaker, along with his new monster, "So that's the monster you got from the Data Storm?" he said. Just then Fire Prison's card appeared, before breaking apart. This then made the cage keeping them in to also break down.

"What happened!?" Ares asked shocked, as were the other three, Revolver gritted his teeth in annoyance. "When the Cyberse that Fire Prison's effect sealed away all leave the Field, Fire Prison is destroyed." he explained annoyed.

This alerted Codebuster making him smirking, "That means the Cyberse are no longer gone!" he cheered.

With Playmaker, his Duel Disk flashed, Ai's eye then returned, "Ai!" Playmaker said, somewhat relieved it was back… Not that he would admit this to the AI though.

"Huh? Where am I?" Ai said confused, "Back being a hostage." his captor joked, "What happened? Was I sleeping?" it asked, "Wait! You didn't lose while I was sleeping!?" it panicked. "No. But I'm nearly out of LP..." he said.

"600 LP! How could you let this happen!? Now we're in a pinch." it cried, however, it suddenly notice Firewall Dragon, shocking it. "Whoa! You have an amazing monster!" it cheered. Ai then looked over at Revolver's Field, "Ahh! Even he has a powerful monster!"

"With Fire Prison destroyed, all your dragon's with DEF lose 300 DEF! Beltlink Wall Dragon goes back to 2100." he said, **2400 = 2100** (Beltlink)

"And due to the Field Spell, Cynet Universe, all Link Monsters on my Field gain 300 ATK!" he said, Firewall Dragon's ATK: **2500 + 300 = 2800**.

"Battle! Firewall Dragon attacks Beltlink Wall Dragon!" Playmaker commanded, said dragon roared and its calm blue body turned an angry red, its wings fanned out to a circle. "Go! Tempest Attack!" he shouted.

Firewall Dragon fired a beam of beam right at the only non Link Monster on the Field, it was instantly destroyed.

"Damn it!" Revolver swore, having to jump down from his perch on the dragon to avoid the blast. "Universe's effect! I return Encode Talker from my Graveyard to my Extra Deck!" Playmaker said, doing just that.

"I set two cards and end my turn!" he said, with this, two cards appeared face-down and vanished.

Playmaker's Hand x 0

 **Turn 7**

"This is great! He just broke down Revolver's strategy, now he can turn this around!" Codebuster cheered, his Duel Disk's apparent bug forgotten for now.

"My turn! I draw!" Revolver yelled, drawing the card, "Trap activate, Parallel Port Armour!" Playmaker shouted, a card flipped up. "I equip this card onto Firewall Dragon!" he said, the dragon glowed for a second.

"Your cards can't target Firewall Dragon, and it cannot be destroyed by battle!" he explained.

"I activate the Spell, Arrow Charge!" Revolver retorted, "When both Extra Monster Zones have a Link Monster with same Rating in them, I can draw 2 cards!" he said, drawing that many.

"I then Normal Summon Anesthrokket Dragon!" he said. Appearing was a new Rokket monster, like the others its was serpent like, its armour was green, its body was black and dark yellow, like the others its had the same wings, and its wrist were big and covered. On its head was a long dart that was mostly purple. It was Summoned to Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Anesthrokket Dragon: DARK, Level: 1 [Dragon/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 2200

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Squib Draw!" he said, "I destroy one Rokket monster on my Field..." he said, as Anesthrokket Dragon burst into particles. "Then I draw two cards!" he said doing that.

"And then from my Hand, I activate the Field Spell, Revolve Boot Sector!" he said, the card appeared on the Field.

"I can Special Summon up to two Rokket monsters in my Hand in Defense position!" he explained, "I Summon Autorokket Dragon and a Anesthrokket Dragon!" he said. Autorokket Dragon appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone linked to Borreload Dragon, and Anesthrokket Dragon in the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Borreload Dragon, both Summoned in Defense.

"Due to Revolve Boot Sector's effect, Rokket monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF!" he said, Anesthrokket Dragon's ATK/DEF: 0 **/2200 + 300/300 =** 300 **/2500** , Autorokket Dragon's ATK/DEF: 1600 **/1000 + 300/300 =** 1900 **/1300**.

"Borreload Dragon's effect! Once per turn, one monster on the Field loses 500 ATK and DEF!" he shouted, "I use this effect on Autorokket Dragon!" he said, confusing all but Hanoi.

Borreload roared, signalling its effect taking affect on the Rokket monster, 1900 **/1300 – 500/500 =** 1400 **/800**. (Autorokket) "Why did he target his own monster?" Ai wondered.

"At this moment, Autorokket Dragon's effect activates!" Revolver shouted, " _So its a trigger effect..._ " Codebuster thought.

"When targeted by a Link Monster's effect, it's destroyed and one Spell and Trap on the Field is sent to the Graveyard!" he explained. Autorokket Dragon, burst into particles, which then condensed into a sphere, and soared into Borreload's gun chamber, which clicked and cycled, said dragon readied itself.

"I target Parallel Port Armor, and send it to the Graveyard!" he said, Borreload charged a ball of orange energy, and launched it at the equipped Trap. It vanished the second it hit, creating an explosion, nearly taking Playmaker out.

"I was right, that effect was activated after being a target for a Link Monster, making the Rokket monster an actual bullet for Borreload to fire." Codebuster said to himself, noting everything he could about Revolver's Deck, one card at the moment still eluded him.

"Now Firewall Dragon can be destroyed, along with being a target for effects again." Revolver said, "Battle! Borreload Dragon attacks Firewall Dragon!" he ordered.

Borreload Dragon once again charged its attack, aiming right at Firewall, it fired a bullet that made its way over to its target. "Borreload Dragon's effect! Strange Trigger!" Revolver shouted, when the bullet hit Firewall it melted over its chest.

Firewall began to suddenly to lag and glitch, it suddenly vanished, and quickly appeared back on Revolver's side of the Field in the Far Right Main Monster linked to Borreload.

"Ahh! His powerful Dragon nicked our powerful Dragon!" Ai screamed, "An effect that takes control and places the battling monster on his side of the Field..." Playmaker concluded.

Revolver smirked, "Now Firewall Dragon, attack Playmaker directly!" he ordered, "Tempest Attack! Your own Cyberse will end you!" Firewall Dragon then glowed red again, and unleashed its beam at its master.

"Do something Playmaker!" Ai cried out, "Trap activate, Cynet Refresh!" Playmaker shouted, one of his cards flipped up. "When a Cyberse-Type monster attacks, all monsters in the Main Monster Zones are destroyed!" he explained, both Anesthrokket and Firewall Dragon burst into particles, this halted the latter's attack going through.

"I set one card..." Revolver said, frustrated that Playmaker had survived longer than he expected, his face-down appeared, then vanished.

"No matter what you do, my defenses are unbreakable! When Anesthrokket Dragon is destroyed by battle or effects, sending it to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one different Rokket monster from my Deck at the end of the turn!" he said.

"Appear! Magnarokket Dragon!" he said as a Magnarokket appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone, "Autorokket also shares this effect, even if destroyed by its own effect!" he added, a third Autorokket appeared in the Far Left Main Monster Zone, both Summoned in Defense.

"With Revolve Boot Sector's effect, Rokket monster's ATK and DEF increase by 300!" he said, Autorokket Dragon 2 & 3's ATK/DEF: 1800 **/1200 + 300/300 =** 2100 **/1500**. (Autorokket's 2 & 3)

" _This reminds me of Valcry's Elkryie monsters..._ " Codebuster thought. "Due to Cynet Refresh's effect, I can Special Summon a Cyberse Link Monster from my Graveyard that this card destroyed!" Playmaker said.

"Resurrect, Firewall Dragon!" appearing in Playmaker's Right Main Monster Zone was Firewall, "Cynet Universe's effect once again gives it 300 ATK!" he added. **2500 + 300 = 2800** (Firewall Dragon)

"Then I activate the Trap, Recoded Alive!" he added, his last Trap flipped up, "I banish Decode Talker from my Graveyard and Special Summon a Code Talker from my Extra Deck!" he said, his Duel Disk telling him the card was banished.

"Come, Encode Talker!" Encode Talker appeared with a war cry in the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's Right, linked to Firewall Dragon and Firewall Dragon also linked with Encode. "Encode Talker then gains 300 ATK with Cynet Universe's effect." he said. Encode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 300 = 2600**.

"Our real fight is just beginning!" he declared, glaring at Revolver, who also glared back, neither willing to back down from this Duel.

"Firewall Dragon's effect! For every monster that's Co-Linked to this card, a monster on the Field or in the Graveyard is returned to its owner's Hand!" he said, "Emergency Escape!" Firewall roared, sparking with electricity.

It then shot it out at Borreload Dragon, "I see, what a powerful effect. But it's useless!" Revolver retorted, "Monster effects can't target Borreload Dragon." he finished.

"Damn it! That's the monster we need to get rid off." Ai swore out. "Then I return Magnarokket Dragon to your Hand..." Playmaker relunctantly said, the electricity arched its way over to the Magnarokket Dragon in Revolver's Right Main Monster Zone.

"But now Magnarokket Dragon's effect activates! When targeted by a Link Monster's effect, it destroys itself, then I can send one monster on the Field to the Graveyard!" Revolver said, the targeted Magnarokket condensed into a blue sphere, which loaded itself into Borreload, who took aim.

"I send Firewall Dragon to the Graveyard!" Borreload fired its ammo, " _So Anesthrokket sends a Spell or Trap_ _to the Graveyard, while Magnarokket sends monsters..._ " Codebuster noted, the other one's effect remained unknown.

"I banish Cynet Refresh to activate it's effect! Card effects can't affect my Cyberse Link Monsters this turn." Playmaker quickly said. A barrier blocked Borreload's bullet, saving the monster.

"So Firewall survived, no matter! Magnarokket's other effect activates!" Revolver said, "When destroyed by battle or card effects, it Special Summons a different Rokket at the end of the turn! I Summon Anesthrokket Dragon in Defense!" a second Anesthrokket took the destroyed Magnarokket's place in the Right Main Monster Zone, summoned in DEF which rose to 2500 due to Revolve Boot Sector.

"I end my turn." he said.

Revolver's Hand x 0

 **Turn 8**

"Playmaker managed to destroy Fire Prison, but he's still in bad shape..." Ghost Girl finally said, "Yeah, he'll need a miracle to get out of this..." Codebuster said, "Revolver had yet to take any damage yet… Playmaker has 600 LP, and no cards in his Hand. This will be tricky to end during his turn..." he added. Ai had just said the same things to its master.

"I know, I've done everything I can in order to battle him, even built a Deck to defeat him..." Playmaker said, looking at his Deck. "In this moment, I know my Deck will help like many other times before..." he added.

"My Turn..." Playmaker said, placing his finger atop of his Deck, "I draw!" he shouted, drawing the card.

He slowly flipped it over, "Yes! This card will do!" he said smirking, "I activate the Continious Spell, Battle Buffer from my Hand!" he said, his only card now gone from his Hand.

"So long as Encode Talker and Firewall are linked with each other, Ansethrokket and Magnarokket Dragon's effect are sealed!" he explained, shocking his opponent. Two beams to Battle Buffer hit the Rokket monster, turning them to stone.

" _He's locked the Rokket's strategy._ " Codebuster thought. "Battle! Firewall Dragon attacks Borreload Dragon!" Playmaker shouted.

"Your attacking Borreload Dragon with 3000 ATK with Firewall whose ATK is only 2800?" Revolver said confused.

"At this moment, Encode Talker's effect! Monsters linked to it are not destroyed in battle and battle damage becomes 0!" Playmaker shouted.

"Go! Firewall Dragon! Tempest Attack!" Once again, Firewall turned red and launched its attack at Borreload, causing a small explosion, when it cleared Borreload was still standing. "Then Encode's additional effect activates. Firewall gains ATK equal to Borreload's ATK!" he said. **2800 + 3000 = 5800** (Encode Talker)

"Was there any point in raising the ATK of a monster that's already battled?" Revolver asked, "There is!" Ai shouted, "Battle Buffer effect! I place a Battle Buffer Counter on this card!" he said, Battle Buffer's Counter Count (Battle Buffer): **0 + 1 = 1**.

"For every Counter on Battle Buffer on this card, Cyberse Link Monsters gain 700 ATK!" he added, **5800 + 700 = 6500** (Firewall Dragon), **2600 + 700 =** **3300** (Encode Talker)

"Yes! Now even Encode has more ATK than Borreload! Ai cheered.

"So that's your plan..." Revolver smirked, "Go! Encode Talker! Attack Borreload Dragon! Final Encode!" Encode's shield hidden blade unsheathed, the Code Talker then charged.

"Borreload's effect! One monster loses 500 ATK and DEF!" Revolver said, "Anti Enemy Bullet!" Borreload charged up its counter strike, "You can not activate card effects to counter this effect." he added, shocking his enemy.

Borreload finished charging, "I will of course target Encode!" he said grinning, the counter attack hit Encode, causing the monster to cry out. **3300 – 500 = 2800**. (Encode Talker)

"Now strike back, Borreload Dragon!" Borreload did just that, shooting a bullet at the recovering Code Talker, who was then destroyed. **600 – 200 = 400** (Playmaker). "Ah! Encode Talker was destroyed!" Ai panicked, that AI could change emotion so fast...

"But now Battle Buffer's effect activates! I can place another Battle Buffer Counter on it!" Playmaker said, **1 + 1 = 2** (Battle Buffer) "Firewall Dragon's ATK increases again!" **6500 + 700 = 7200** (Firewall Dragon)

"But with Encode gone, your monsters are no longer linked, meaning Battle Buffer can no longer seal effects away." Revolver noted. Both Rokket monster returned to normal, their effect returning also.

" _Great with them back, Revolver can use Magnarokket's effect to take out Firewall, and end Playmaker..._ " Codebuster thought annoyed. "It's safe to safe your turn is now over, you can no longer attack me." Revolver said, the other knights grinning, Talon the most, as this would mean that with the Ignis so to be eradicated. Revolver could then begin to help him with his-

"Are you sure about that?" Playmaker suddenly said, shocking the knights. "With Borreload's effect out of the way, he cannot target Magnarokket..." Playmaker said, Codebuster then realised this was what he was going for.

"I banish Recoded Alive from my Graveyard to activate its effect!" he said, the card was then banished, "Doing this allows me the Special Summon the banished Decode Talker!" he explained, Decode Talker then appeared, in Playmaker's Left Main Monster Zone, pointing to Borreload Dragon.

"Decode Talker gains 500 ATK for every monster its linked to! Power Integration!" **2300 + 500 = 2800** (Decode Talker) "There's more! Cynet Universe's effect gives it an additional 300 ATK!" Ai yelled, **2800 + 300 = 3100** (Decode Talker)

"And with Battle Buffer's effect, Decode Talker also gains 700 ATK per counter on Battle Buffer!" Playmaker said this time. **3100 + 1400 = 4500** (Decode Talker)

"Go! Decode Talker! Attack Borreload Dragon! Decode End!" Decode Talker swung his sword, charging at the dragon. "I activate the Trap, Borrel Refrigeration!" Revolver countered. "By tributing Anesthrokket I equip this card onto Borreload." he said, Anesthrokket disappeared.

"Borreload can now select one monster on the Field, and that monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!" he said, "I target Magnarokket Dragon!" he said, causing his knights to sigh out relieved.

"No! This would mean that Magnarokket's effect triggers!" Codebuster shouted, "Magnarokket's effect! When targeted by a Link Monster, it destroys itself, and then I can send one monster to the Graveyard!" Revolver said.

"I send Decode Talker!" Magnarokket clicked itself into Borreload's gun chamber, who then shot a bullet into the sky, causing a dark portal to appear, and suck the attacking Code Talker into it. With this Revolver grinned.

"Now its really over this time, Playmaker." he said. "Only Firewall Dragon is lefted on your Field, powered up, but that power will go to waste after you end your turn." he said.

"He's right, with Magnarokket gone, it's other effect will allow Revolver to bring out his last Autorokket, target it with Borreload's effect during his turn, send Battle Buffer to the Graveyard, returning Firewall's ATK to normal, attack it and deal 500 damage to Playmaker, ending the Duel..." Codebuster said.

Revolver heard this, amazed that Codebuster could see his strategy play out, and he was right on the money with how he would do it, step by step. "You heard him, even Codebuster can see your end. With no cards in your Hand, you have nothing to stop his outcome from occurring." Revolver said.

"You'll lose on my next turn!" he added, "No I won't!" Playmaker retorted, "I have three reasons for why I must defeat you!" he declared, confusing Revolver, who could of swore that sounded-

"One: I'll defeat you and uncover the truth about what happened ten years ago!" he said, shocking Revolver, Ares and even Codebuster. " _T-Ten years ago! That would apply that he knows-_ " Codebuster thought.

"Two: I'll regain the time that I lost during that time!" he added, shocking Codebuster again, " _That… That would mean he's-_ " "And Three: I'll save the person who saved me!" he declared.

"Ten years ago… Three things..." Revolver muttered, until it clicked together, "You're one of them from that incident ten years ago!?" he said, shocking most of them there and Akira watching through Ghost Girl.

"That's right. I'm that emissary of revenge!" Playmaker declared. "Playmaker… Is a victim of the Lost Incident..." Codebuster muttered in shocked, " _Lost Incident? Ten years ago?_ " Ghost Girl thought confused.

Revolver suddenly gritted his teeth, "You're a fool, Playmaker! To help SOL Technologies without knowing the truth!" he shouted, this shocked Codebuster, " _SOL Technologies is behind it!?_ " he thought, giving out a low growl. Ghost Girl notice this.

"There's only one thing for me to do. I'll crush the Knights of Hanoi and learn everything!" Playmaker declared, anger emanating from him. "I now activate Parallel Port Armor's effect from the Graveyard!" he said.

"I activate it's effect, by banishing it and two Link Monsters from my Graveyard!" The Trap, along with Decode and Encode Talker were then banished. "Now my Link Monster can battle twice this turn!" he declared, shocking the knights.

"Firewall Dragon… Can attack again!?" Revolver shouted shocked. "Go! Firewall Dragon! Attack Borreload Dragon! Tempest Attack!" Playmaker yelled out, Firewall once more charged its attack, turning red.

It launched its attack, "Even if Borreload can't be destroyed, you still take damage!" Ai declared, the attack hit Borreload Dragon, sending out shockwave, that forced Revolver backwards past his knights and slamming into a rock wall. Revolver's LP: **4000 – 4200 = 0**.

"Revolver!" his knights screamed for him, running over to their leader.

Playmaker: **WINS**

Revolver: **LOSE**

"He won..." Codebuster got out, somewhere between shocked and relieved.

"As promised, I'll take the information you have!" Playmaker said, "I'll eat it up!" Ai yelled, glowing, a moment later, its monstrous form appeared. This alerted the knights, as monster Ai made its way to Revolver, who tried to jump back, it wasn't enough, as Ai ripped off Revolver's left arm.

"I'll eat everything up" Monster Ai shouted, going in for a second attack, forcing the other knights to defend their leader.

They didn't have to thought, as a bolt of lightning from above hit Ai, hurting it. "Father!" Revolver shouted, a green beam then descended, right over Revolver, the other knights crowding around him, they then started to lift off the ground.

Ai returned to its Duel Disk, "Hey! Trying to escape!" Ai yelled annoyed, and in pain, the knights were just glaring at them. "I'll keep my promise." Revolver said, appearing in his non-amputated arm a card formed, which he then threw at Playmaker's Disk.

"It's the removal program." he said, "Playmaker! The wind didn't blow for me today, but that doesn't mean this is over, so long as you have that Ignis, we'll come for you again!" he declared, Valcry then looked over to Codebuster and glared, who glared back at her. "Same goes for us, I'll take you out the next time we meet!" she spat out.

Moments later, when the knight were in the green light completely, it vanished, along with them. "Awww, they escaped! We were so close!" Ai whined.

"Playmaker!" Codebuster then jumped down to meet them, the surrounding area starting to break apart. "This place is coming apart!" he said, making Playmaker nod his head, the two including Ghost Girl suddenly teleported away.

Once outside the Tornado, it vanished complete, the debris being destroyed with it...

* * *

Back with Akira who watched over Blue Angel, looked up in time to see Playmaker, Codebuster and Ghost Girl teleport in.

"Playmaker!" Akira said, "I've got the Removal Program, with this, she'll be..." Playmaker said, activating the program, his hand glowed, as his held it over Blue Angel as sprinkles of Data were absorbed into her.

Blue Angel's body suddenly stirred before she dematerialised, she had just logged out, "Aoi!" her brother shouted, "She must have been able to log out." Codebuster guessed, he looked to see Playmaker walk off.

"That means you should go to her" Ghost Girl said, making Akira smile, "Playmaker-" he went to thank the Duelist, but discovered he was walking away. "Codebuster-" he turned to Codebuster, but also discovered he was walking after the first.

"Playmaker!" Codebuster shouted, stopping the first, "What?" he asked, "Was all that true? Are you a victim of that incident?" Codebuster asked, "Yes, but why does that concern you?" he asked, of course he already had a guess.

"I've heard about that incident, but I never thought the victims were seen or heard off ever again..." Codebuster lied, which Playmaker guessed, but he let it go for now. "If that's all, then I'll be leaving." he said, and with that Playmaker logged out.

"Are you just going to let him go?" Akira asked approaching Codebuster, "Yeah… He deserve it, he did just save your sister..." he said to him " _And he's already gone through enough_ " he thought. "Next time though, I'll Duel and beat him." he said, declaring this with a tight fist. He too then logged out…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru, Matoyia's Room…**

The sphere around Matoyia faded, causing him to stir, he slowly opening his eyes slightly. "Oww..." he hissed out, sitting up and stretching his joints. "I'm going to feel that for a while..." he groaned. He then got up and made his way downstairs. Not even noticing his computer was on.

"Matoyia!" he was suddenly tackled by both Asuka and Aito the second he made his way into the Second story. "Ow ow ow ow!" he hissed out.

"Thank goodness your alright..." Aito whispered out, "What happened in there?" Asuka asked concerned, after the three seperated, Matoyia looked at them, serious, "You won't believe what I've found out..." was all he said, he then began to tell them what had happened in there...

* * *

 **Hanoi's base…**

Revolver was thinking, about what had just occurred during that battle, while clutching the stump where his arm would be. the other knights that accompanied him standing a few feet away, all furious that their leader had lost.

"I can't believe Revolver lost..." Ares growled, "And I can't believe Codebuster escaped!" Valcry also growled out, she was literally inches away from getting rid of him. "Sorry Miku… You'll have to suffer a bit more longer..." Talon muttered sad, and angry at Playmaker. "Aww, why the long face?" Vire mocked.

"You let your guard down." a voice said, all talk immediately ceased, as appearing before them was a main with fair skin with a beard-moustache combo with was grey, his hair black and grey, and his clothing consisted of white lab coat, a dark undershirt with red stripes, black pants and brown shoes.

"Dr. Kogami!" Ares said, then quickly bowed, the others minus Revolver followed suit. Revolver turned to face Kogami, "That's very unlike you, or were you actually shaken when he talked about what occurred ten years ago?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, father..." Revolver slowly said, red data began to gather, near the stump of his arm, moments later his arm was back good as new. "But next time, I promise!" he declared.

"It's fine don't worry about it… I was able to acquire useful data from the Duel." Kogami said, he then turned to Valcry, who looked away, "Don't you worry too Valcry, because you won your Duel against Codebuster, he'll be sure to take you serious next time." he said, making her smile gently.

"That's if I don't get to him first..." Ares muttered, earning a glare from the female knight, "Don't worry Dr. Kogami, the next time I face Codebuster, he'll be sure to use his Weirdware Deck, then I'll take both him and his Deck out completely!" she vowed.

"Speaking of Codebuster..." Vire said, all eyes on him, "What was with his Duel Disk?" he asked, referring to the beam that hit Firewall Dragon. "I'm not entirely sure about that, this Weirdware Deck is still new to us, and we don't have much data on it either." Kogami explained.

"Maybe we should get him to Duel some more and find out!" Ares said smirking, "Yes, but..." Kogami said, "If we can't acquire the Ignis. I must procede to our final plan..." he said, no one said anything to this.

"I'll begin making precautions." he said, "Understood..." Revolver bowed, so did the others as the Doctor lefted.

"I can't believe we're forced to the Doctor's final plan..." Ares sighed out, "Shame, but what can we do?" Valcry said, "Well, may as well get ready to going back to my plain old existence for the rest of my life..." Vire muttered.

All four knights teleported away, leaving Revolver to himself.

"Three things… That speech pattern..." Revolver muttered, thinking to back then…

* * *

 **SOL Technologies…**

On the giant chess board, a giant Knight, Bishop and Rook piece sat, "Zaizen has learned something he shouldn't have." Bishop said, "As well as Codebuster for that matter." he added, "It's dangerous to keep Zaizen in his current position. Should he become curious." Knight said.

"What of his successor?" Rook asked, "Kitamura is qualified enough." Knight said, "If offered a promotion, he'll be very happy, like a good piece should." he added.

"As for Codebuster, we must keep a close eye on him, while free from our control, should we try and end his contract for the Ignis's capture, he'll know something is up. And will try and look for the truth..." Bishop said, actually starting to regret bringing the Bounty Hunter in.

"Correct, should he get to close, we'll deal with him as by law..." Rook said, the piece then faded, their talk over...

* * *

 **Cafe Nagi, (30 minutes later)**

Inside the truck, the three, Yusaku, Kusanagi and Ai having watching a live feed of Aoi's hospital room, where Aoi Zaizen and Akira were having a tearful moment. Currently Yusaku was resting, however his mind kept bring up his talk with Revolver.

Suddenly he woke up, shocked, "I..." he muttered, "Ah good, you're up!" Kusanagi said, "I'm almost done analysing Ai's data." he said, typing away at the computer.

"Learn anything?" Yusaku asked, curious, "This, about what Revolver said?" the first asked, "AI with free will… Revolver said that free will equals life." Yusaku said thinking back on the knight's words. "So Ai is alive, and that's why Hanoi desperately want him..." he said, looking down at the Duel Disk, Ai's eye closed, as though asleep.

"But we can't prove he's alive, there's no beating heart." Kusanagi retorted. "Oy! Whatcha talking about?" Ai asked, waking up. "Whether or not you're alive." Kusanagi said. "Ah, so that's what Revolver was on about while I was asleep." the Ignis said.

"Of course, I am!" he said smug, "Watch! I can do this!" he said, his eyes began to move frantically. "Prove it." Yusaku dared.

"I will! Look up!" Ai said, then looked to the screen, which began to glitch, a figure starting to appear, it was waving. "What are we looking at? Image data?" Kusanagi guessed, "Man this program is incomprehensible." he added.

"Ha! That's because- Actually do you want me to tell you?" Ai teased, "If you don't tell us, I'll disassemble you!" Yusaku threatened.

"Well, I wasn't going to tell you, but since you're special. You should thank me!" it said, its eye then vanished, followed by a strong golden light, shocking the two humans. The screen of the Duel Disk began to shift around, a single dark arm began to exit it, followed by another as something was lifting itself out, a back was shown, then two eyes open and a flash occurred…

…

…

…

And now standing on the Duel Disk was a very small, non threatening Ai, who now had a body, which was black with purple circuitry lines over its body. it's form was very lanky, no muscle whatsoever. "Ta da! How this! This is my true form!" Ai cheered…

…

…

…

The two humans were no impressed at all, "That's it?" Yusaku asked as Ai ranted on about how he got his body back from Revolver. "Do you remember anything else?" Kusanagi asked. "No. The program I ate from Revolver only had my body." he explained.

…

…

…

…

… Yusaku and Kusanagi then proceded to type, "Recheck and see if we overlooked anything." Kusanagi said, shocking the AI. "Right." his partner said, "Hey hey hey! That's it? Nothing to say about seeing this body?" Ai stuttered.

"By the way..." Kusanagi began, "What was with Codebuster's Duel Disk?" he asked, referring to what happened during when Firewall Dragon was summoned. "No idea, but I don't like it..." Yusaku said.

"Hey! C'mon! Look at me!" Ai cried out…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru…**

"So the Ignis is an AI with free will?" Asuka asked, she, Aito and Matoyia were sitting around the living room, Matoyia enjoyed his dinner, "Yeah apparently, but that's not possible..." Matoyia said, "And SOL Technologies was involved in the 'you know what'?" she asked, not staying the name of that incident.

"That's what Revolver hinted at, I'll try and look into them for something..." he said, "And Playmaker..." Aito said quietly, making them look at him. "Was he really like me…?" he asked hugging himself more, his sister giving him a comforting hug.

"Yeah… That's what he said..." Matoyia said, finishing his meal. He then stood up, "I just can't believe it though..." he muttered walking to the window to stare out. "We knew Aito wasn't the only one, but I never thought that I would meet another victim, not one that would confirm being a victim..." he said.

"And if he's a victim, Hanoi must be related to the incident." Aito flinched slightly, "I mean why else would he go after Hanoi with so much anger other than to stop Cyber Terrorist?" he questioned looking back at them.

"Maybe..." he said, walking back them, until in front of Aito, who looked up at him confused, "Maybe this could be your closure..." he said, resting his arms on Aito's shoulders, "If I can help take down Hanoi, and find out what the Incident was about from SOL, then you may be able to move on. People do often or not, move on after something is put behind them for good." he said smiling.

"Maybe..." Aito said, not sure about that. "How is Blue Angel by the way?" Asuka asked, he had told them that Playmaker had removed the virus from the Idol. "Oh! I haven't checked on that." Matoyia said, having forgotten about her and Akira.

"I'll go check on that, and tell you in the morning..." he said, stretching, "Man that attack still stings..." he groaned, "Night..." he said, waving to them. "We should get you to bed too." Asuka said to Aito. "Okay..." he muttered.

The three made their upstairs, turning the second story off, while they went about getting changed into their PJ's and brushing their teeth, the three bid one another a good night and shut themselves in their rooms.

In Matoyia's room, he made his way over to his computer, but stopped as he noticed it was on. "Hmm... _Strange? I don't remember turning you on._ " he thought.

He then opened up footage of the hospital from a few hours ago, and found out that Aoi Zaizen had in fact woken up, Akira by her bedside, they had a tearful reunion, making Matoyia smile.

"Now onto why you turned on-" he said, closing that footage down, and proceded to look through the computer, but didn't need to as he looked at the programs that were opened, what it showed was what shocked him.

"What… How… What?" he muttered confused, staring at the screen then his Duel Disk, then his screen, and back to his Duel Disk, this repeated for a while- "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" he yelled out, his voice carrying to outside…

End of Chapter 9

* * *

 **There we go, that Duel is out the way, and if some of you are wondering why I didn't do Playmaker and Revolver's Speed Duel, simple, nothing different happened, the only reason I did Playmaker vs Go and Blue Angel was to introduce the monster in the Data Storm, which will be revealed soon…**

 **Since I didn't have it show in his Duel against Revolver, there was no point in showing that Duel. Linda Fullmoon was right, I don't have to show all shown Duels, but I will do some, as they have major plot involved in them sometimes. I'll try and do brief showings of shown Duels.**

 **And finally, the deadline for the last Hanoi OC slot is over, so that now goes to jalen Johnson.**

 **So that's all I have to say, so I'll see ya next time. Peace!**


	10. Chapter 10: Fail-Safe Dragon Awakening!

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or TV Speaking_ "

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second story, Saturday, (6:56 AM)**

It was the morning after Playmaker's victory over the leader of Hanoi, Revolver, and Matoyia was in the kitchen, holding and staring at a Link Monster card in his hand. " _How? How did this happen?_ " he thought looking at the card, then glanced at his Duel Disk which was on the table.

He was still in shock on what he discovered last night, " _Did my Cyberse Deck do this? And if so, what for?_ " he asked.

" _Still this is a good card, I'll definitely be using it..._ " the card he was holding was in fact good, so good that he couldn't waste… Well, it was use it, or his computer may make another copy until he relented on not using it.

"Morning..." a voice called out, alerting him that Asuka was now up, and in her nightwear still, "Morning..." he muttered back, still looking at the card. Asuka noticing this, slowly made her way behind him and-

"Yoink!" snatched the card right out of his hand. "Hey!" he glared at her while she smirked, then looked over the card and was shocked and amazed, "Whoa! What a card you've got here!" she said smiling.

"Give that back..." he held out his hand, she sighed and gently placed the card back into his hand, "So was that the reason why you yelled last night?" she asked, starting to make her breakfast.

"Yeah, somehow my computer must have turned itself on, and activated the Duel Monster Creation program..." he said, that was his best guess on that though. "My Cyberse Deck is mostly likely behind this but why though?" he added.

"Well, either way, that will come in handy for when you finally challenge Playmaker, I'm sure he'll be shocked!" she said.

"Sure..." he then went silent, "Can I have today off? I want to look into SOL Technologies for something." he said after a minute. "About the incident?" she questioned, curious, "If I can find even something about it, it could help Aito." he said.

She was quiet for a while thinking this over while cooking her eggs and bacon, "Sure… Just keep an eye an Aito every once and a while, please?" she finally said.

"Yes, ma'am!" he said smiling, Aito would be up soon, he hoped, he was slowly recovering, " _Maybe finding something from SOL could truly make him move on from then..._ " he thought...

* * *

 **Unknown Apartment…**

Within this apartment, boxes were stacked, some furniture that was in the place before. was being moved about by the new owner.

Said owner was a young girl with fair skin, blue eyes and black wavy hair in a loose ponytail, her figure was hourglass, her clothing was a simple light grey turtleneck that hugged her… chest tightly, a purple shirt under this, and a pair of dark blue jeans that were faded in some places, she was shoeless, letting her socks be seen, which were pink.

"Hey mom! Yeah, just calling to say that my first night here was fine, I've already started to unpack, and I'll be getting ready for monday." she said into her phone, tucked into her shoulder as she spoke and unpacked.

"Yes I really want to do this, I haven't been in this city for eleven years, it'll be nice to get to know it all again… Shame you couldn't come with me though." she said smiling, thinking about all the memories she had of this city, and especially her old childhood friend that she had to leave behind back then.

"Alright, talk to you later. Bye!" she then ended the call, and put her phone away, she then took a moment to look out her window, to hear the noise and lights of the city she grew up in once, it was good to be back here.

"Now I wonder how you've been..." she muttered to herself, looking over to some clothing that was hanging up, it was a school uniform, "Yusaku." she smiled…

* * *

 **Yusaku' Home, (8:10 AM)**

"So what's the plan for today?" Ai asked, taking on his true form, still getting the hang after so long as an eye. "Try and discover what Hanoi's next plan is..." Yusaku said, wearing civilian clothing, which was his black hoodie over a white shirt pale tale jeans.

"That's it? Boring!" Ai moaned, "Oh! Maybe you could hang out with Aito! You guys are friends!" it said, "Don't know where he lives, and I'm not sure he has recovered from his panic attack." Yusaku countered, he hoped Aito had bounced back though.

" ***** **Sigh** ***** Guess it will be boring without Hanoi to doing something..." Ai muttered, with this Yusaku, with his Duel Disk walked out of his house, and made their way to Kusanagi, who told them he had set up shop in the plaza.

"Well there is one thing we could do..." Yusaku muttered, gaining the AI's attention. "We could try and look up Matoyia Guriddo..." he said, "The guy you think may be Codebuster?" Ai asked, "Yes, if Aito is a victim, then Codebuster maybe supporting him, hence his reason for being a bounty hunter." he explained.

"Hmm, if we can confirm Codebuster's real identity, that's one less problem for us." Ai said, "Yeah." Yusaku, and with that he walked a bit faster…

* * *

 **Hanoi's base, (9:23 AM)**

Standing in the room was Revolver, Spectre, along with Dr Kogami, suddenly another person appeared before them.

He was the young, around 17, given his height, which was just under Revolver. He wore a helmet that resemble those from medieval times, his eyes glowing through the slits. His clothing was like that of other Hanoi knights. This was Lancelot.

"Lancelot. Good to see you again." Revolver said, Lancelot bowed to them, his helmet faded, leaving just the rim fused around his face. With his face revealed, his hair was short and framed his face, it was purple. And his eyes were violet purple.

"Lord Revolver-san. What is your bidding?" Lancelot asked "Rise." Kogami said to him, he did just that, "I would like for you to gain Codebuster's attention and Duel him!" he asked, Lancelot was shocked by this. "The bounty hunter?! Do you want him out of the way? I heard Valcry-san defeated him, but she failed to erase him." the knight said.

"Yes that Codebuster, however, I just want you to Duel him..." Kogami said, holding out a hand, a sphere of data appeared, "Hold out your Duel Disk please..." he requested, with the Knight doing as told. The Doctor then placed the sphere over it, and it was absorbed.

"What was that Dr. Kogami?" he asked looking at the Duel Disk, "A program that will let us record data from a Duel, this will be used in your Duel against Codebuster, that way we can find something about his Weirdware Deck..." Kogami explained, with the knight nodding in understanding.

"Now with that done, I shall get back to nurturing the final plan..." the doctor then took off, "Right, if that is my mission, then I'll be off-" "Wait." Lancelot and Revolver said in that order. "Yes Master?" he asked.

"I also have a mission for you..." Revolver said…

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, (10:30 AM)**

Standing on the platform surrounded by the chasm was Akira and Kitamura, the second being nervous, the first was calm, he knew what was going to happen, and he knew their was nothing he could do to prevent.

So he thought on the 'Incident' that was discussed during the Duel that decided his sister's future. SOL must be related if Revolver declared so, or did he say that to fill his heart with doubt.

Just then the area around them changed into a chessboard, followed by Bishop, Knight and Rook appearing, this freaked Kitamura a bit, Akira remained calmed.

"I suppose you know the reason for this meeting?" Bishop said, "Yes..." Akira said monotone, "Then we shall begin." Rook said.

"Akira Zaizen, after current events and discussion..." Knight said, "You shall be demoted." Bishop said shocking Kitamura. "And Kitamura, you shall once again become Security Manager." Rook added.

"Do you object?" Knight asked Akira, "No sir, but can I make one request?" he asked, "Which is?" Bishop said, "I would like Damien Finch, my assistant to come with me." he asked, "Hmm, that should be reasonable. Very well." Bishop said. Meanwhile Kitamura was struggling not to rub it in Akira's face right then and now.

"Now that done, you may leave." Rook said, the three pieces then disappeared…

…

…

…

"Ha! Take that Zaizen!" Kitamura laughed out, grinning ear from ear to ear, "I knew one day you would mess this up, and now its time for me to make Link VRAINS perfect again!" he added, hoping this would crushed his rival. Said rival was not affected at all, "Congratulations." Akira said, turned and lefted.

"Eh?" Kitamura said confused.

* * *

Outside the conference room, by his desk was Mars, with Damien standing by the door, said door opened, with Akira and an angry Kitamura walking out. "Why aren't you devastated!? I took back my job from you!" Kitamura yelled at Akira, who continued to walk, Damien then followed him.

"So I'm guessing Akira has been demoted?" Mars asked, "Yes he has, I knew he couldn't handle the job for long!" he spat out, "Didn't he have the job longer than you?" Mars asked, "I-I-I... SHUT UP!" Kitamura yelled then stormed off.

* * *

With Akira and Damien, "I've been demoted, but I managed to bring you with me, your help will be needed." Akira said, "I understand sir..." Damien said.

With this the two walked in silence, Akira smiled slightly, " _At least with this, I can be there for Aoi a bit more..._ " he thought, Aoi was still recovering, she should be able to get out of the hospital today. He then thought back to the Duel just last night.

" _This may give me a chance to uncover what SOL has been hiding from the public._ " he added, if Revolver was telling the truth, then they were involved, but why?…

* * *

 **Andru's Home, (11:34 AM)**

AnDru… was bored! There was nothing to do, for the past few days, he had been scouring Link VRAINS at night for challenges as NoPlayer, sadly none had shown, but on a bright side, someone had bought the Primal Rage Rex that he took from that Guard.

So right now, he was watching tv… surrounded by his sisters, a little too close for siblings. His head resting on Emi's chest as a pillow. " ***Yawn*** Is there anything else on?" AnDra moaned out, snuggling closer to AnDru.

"No, maybe we could put something on." AnDru suggested, "Or we could go outside, it is nice outside." Emi said looking outside to prove that it was sunny.

"Well I could go for a walk." AnDra said, the two sisters then looked to AnDru, "Sure, let me get ready." he said, getting up from his spot, he made his way upstairs and got ready.

5 minutes later, after trying to short out his 'long' hair, he gave up and lefted it. He then walked to his door, but not before looking down at his bottom draw of his desk. "No! I don't need them to take on anyone! My Deck is okay as it is." he whispered to himself, and then quickly looked away and walked back door stairs…

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (1:30 PM)**

"Okay… VictoryCrafter." an avatar in a business suit said, he was the blank kind of avatar, there were a couple of others the same as him, standing before them was the Steampunk Duelist, VictoryCrafter.

"All your info is fine, but there is one concern we have..." the avatar said, "Which is?" VictoryCrafter asked, "It just that, well, we managed to collect intel about your past jobs..." he said.

"Why did they all fail?" he asked, "Oh that, apparently there were mad when they discovered that I hacked into their mainframes, and when they confronted me, I told them where they could improve on their security..." VictoryCrafter explained.

"Hmm, well, since you were honest, I would like to say welcome aboard!" the avatar said. "Thank you sir!" he said bowing…

"Now I would like to talk to you about improving your mainframe's security!" he said looking up smiling…

* * *

Now outside the digital building, "And STAY OUT!" a bulky bodyguard yelled, throwing VictoryCrafter out, he screamed as he face planted. "Bloody mooch, thinking people want to hear his crap..." the bodyguard muttered walking back into the building.

VictoryCrafter slowly peeled himself off the pavement, "Ow..." he moaned tending to his nose. "The nerve of some people, I thought they would like to know where to improve upon." he huffed walking off.

"One of these days, someone is going to appreciate my talent, and then I can make some good money..." he said, he then made a list appear in front of him, and crossed off the name of the company he was just trying to work for, there were several already crossed out.

"There are very few remained that I can interview for..." he then began thinking that maybe he shouldn't hack into their mainframe, and tell them where to improve upon… But where was the fun in that?

Suddenly above them, the clouds began to darken, a rumble of thunder could be heard. "Huh?" VictoryCrafter said looking up just to see lightning to gather, it suddenly struck near him, blinding everyone in the vicinity.

When it ended, standing just where the struck had occurred was a Hanoi knight, a medieval mask on his. "It's Hanoi!" a random avatar screamed out. They tried to run, but a barrier erupted stopping them.

"Worry not, I have no intentions for any of you lot..." Lancelot said to them, "I shall make myself clear." he said, "This barrier is one way, people can come in, but they cannot get out." he told them.

"However it doesn't stop you from logging out." he added smiling, "If we can get out, that means your stupid plan has-" a random avatar shouted, as they attempted to log out, red energy collected near them, and zapped, they screamed in pain as they were vapourised, this scared the others who were about to do the same thing.

"However, said attempts of logging out lead to the erasure of your accounts." he added.

* * *

Outside in the real world at the plaza was Cafe Nagi, Yusaku sitting outside eating a hotdog, "A knight has appeared!" Ai shouted, "Quick, Yusaku!" Kusanagi said, "Right!" he said, running into the truck.

Unaware to any of them, AnDru, AnDra and Emi were sitting down at a bench near them, AnDru saw this, but couldn't hear a thing, a first when he looked over at Yusaku, he thought he was talking to himself. He began to think that Yusaku was so lonely, that he sometimes talked to himself. Poor guy.

"Those poor people!" AnDra said, hugging AnDru, who comforted her. "Don't worry sis, Playmaker will stop that knight." Emi said, "I hope your right." AnDru said, if they were still at home, he could do something about this, but that would expose him to the world though, he was only a rumor, and he liked it that way…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru, Second Story…**

Current watching TV was Matoyia and Aito, Matoyia was in the middle of a small break from his computer, having tried to find out more about the Lost Incident and how it was connected to SOL, sadly he has yet to find anything.

He guessed that the important files and documents were hidden deep within the system, bad news for him, he would need Playmaker's help to get there, it was the least he could do, seeing that had suffered like Aito-

" _This just in! A Knight of Hanoi has appeared and taken a large group of people hostage in Link VRAINS!_ " the tv suddenly switched over from the show they were watching to the Link VRAINS channel, were an anchor man avatar was reporting, behind them a giant sphere was erected.

" _Several people have already lost their accounts in an attempt to log out._ " they added, " _Playmaker! If you can hear this, hurry!_ " they said. With this Matoyia got up, "I'll be back Aito." he said running to his room.

Upon entering the room, he quickly sat down in his chair, "Into the VRAINS!" he shouted...

* * *

Back in the sphere, the people were starting to huddle up to one another, all log out attempts had ceased, they had seen other people learn their lesson on that.

"Hanoi!" a voice yelled from above, the people looked and cheered as above was Playmaker on his D-Board, he jumped, dived into the sphere, and landed.

"Yes! Playmaker is here!" several of the crowd cheered out, Playmaker slowly made his to the knight, meanwhile outside the sphere, Codebuster had just landed.

"Right with Playmaker dealing with him, I can work on making a back door for these people, just in case Hanoi has another trick up their sleeves." he said, his drone ejected and began scanning the barrier, data started to appear before him as he began typing.

"Playmaker. Good to see you!" Lancelot said to the approaching Duelist, "Don't forget me!" Ai shouted taking his true form. "Oh? So you retrieved your true form?" Lancelot said.

"Nevermind that, who are you? And tell me where Revolver is!" Playmaker demanded, "My name is Lancelot, and I'm afraid not." the knight said, "Then we'll Duel it out of you!" Ai snapped out, "Playmaker-sama is the reason you did this after all, to get to me!" Ai said.

"True you are Hanoi's top priority. But not for my mission!" Lancelot said shocking and confusing them, "But who are you after?" Playmaker asked.

At this Lancelot smiled, he then pointed behind Playmaker, who looked behind, "I am here to Duel the bounty hunter, Codebuster!" he declared, Codebuster having this stopped in his tracks. "The Shooter!? Why?" Ai asked confused.

"That is none of your business." Lancelot said, "You may watch me defeat him, after all, you can no longer leave, and only by beating me can this barrier be lefted." he explained.

Codebuster had stopped his attempt at rescue altogether, "Enter Codebuster! And met your fate by my hand!" Lancelot shouted.

Codebuster took a breather, and then walked forward, going through the barrier's data, once inside he made his approach, all eyes on him.

He came to a stop, a few yards away from the knight, "Why am I your target?" he asked, "I'm doing what my superiors have requested of me." the knight said.

"Now let us begin!" he declared, arming his Duel Disk, Codebuster nodded and did the same.

"OMG! The knight known as Lancelot, has capture dozens of people, and only Codebuster can challenge him and win! Can he do it" the MC yelled to the gathering crowd.

"Take him down Codebuster!" Hiroshi screamed out, Yui and Sora also cheered to.

"DUEL!" the Duelist yelled out, drawing five cards each. The layout for a Master Duel appeared before them.

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

Lancelot's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I shall take the first turn!" Lancelot said, "I Normal Summon Noble Knight Medraut!" he said tapping the card.

Appearing of his Field was a young man with orange hair in old armor, most of it was cloth, brown and orange striped, while his arms, shoulder, chest, hips and boots were metal, he had a tore cape, and in one hand was a small sword. He was Summoned to Lancelot's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Noble Knight Medraut: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 1000

"Medraut is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the Field." he explained, "Eh? Why tell Codebuster this? He could have the element of surprise." Ai pondered.

"Now I activate the Equip Spell, Noble Arms – Arfeudutyr!" he said, "I equip this card onto Medraut!" Suddenly Medraut's weapon darkened, slowly becoming longer and the hilt changing shape, the darkness faded to reveal a dark blade.

"Medraut's effect!" he said, "You said Medraut was treated as a Normal Monster." Codebuster said. "Correct, but when equipped with a Noble Arms Equip Spell, it becomes an Effect Monster." he explained.

"As I said, now while equipped with a Noble Arms, Medraut become DARK Attribute!" he said, Medraut's shadow started to move, a scary face appeared on it. "As well as his Level increasing by one!" he said. Medraut's Level: **4 + 1 = 5**.

"Now Medraut's gained effect! Once per turn, if I control no other monsters, I can Special Summon 1 Noble Knight monster from my Deck in Defense!" he said. A screen appeared and he selected his choice.

I Summon Noble Knight Borz!" appearing next to Medraut in Lancelot's Right Main Monster Zone was a knight decked out in full metal armor, a red cape on his shoulders and a golden chalice in his hands.

 **Noble Knight Borz: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/** 1700 **DEF/900**

"Borz is also treated as a Normal Monster while not equipped with a Noble Arms Equip Spell." he said.

"Then Medraut's effect destroys the equipped Arfeudutyr!" the dark blade returned to its normal form. This caused Medraut's shadow to return to normal. **5 = 4** (Medraut)

"It's effect! When destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I target 1 Noble Knight, and equip it onto that monster!" he said, "I now choose Borz!" In one of Borz's hand the dark blade appeared.

"Borz's gained effects! He too becomes DARK and increases by 1 Level!" Borz's Level: **4 + 1 = 5**.

"Now I activate his other effect! Once per turn, I reveal 3 Noble Arms cards to you and you must randomly select one for me to add to my Hand!" three cards ejected from his Deck, which he took and showed to Codebuster.

"I pick the one on the left!" he said, "You added Noble Arms – Caliburn to my Hand!" Lancelot said, "The other two cards are sent to the Graveyard!" the other two cards burst into particle, which made their way into his Graveyard slot.

"Now I activate the added Equip Spell, and equip it onto Medraut!" Medraut's weapon changed into wonderous shiny longsword. "Once again, he gains his effects." Medraut's shadow became demonic. **4 + 1 = 5** (Medraut)

"Not only that, but Medraut's gains 500 ATK due to Caliburn!" Medraut's ATK: **1700 + 500 = 2200**.

"Then Caliburn's effect! Once per turn, I can gain 500 LP!" he said, a yellow glow enveloped him. Lancelot's LP: **4000 + 500 = 4500**.

"Now I place two cards face-down and end my turn!" he said, two cards appeared face down, and faded. "Now show me your power!" he yelled.

Lancelot's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"So these Knights gain effects from certain Equip Spell..." Codebuster muttered, "My turn! I Draw!" he drew his card.

"I activate the Continious Spell, Weirdware Uploading!" the Spell appeared on his Field, Lancelot gains briefly, "Once per turn, when I control no monsters or only Weirdware ones, I can add 1 Weirdware Monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he added his choice.

"When I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand! Come, Weirdware Cloaker!" he shouted placing the card onto his blade.

Appearing on his side of the Field, was a three legged cybernetic monster like the other ones, the top of its armor casing was somewhat transparent, letting you see the wires, which were red, it had 4 silver fingers. Its head was elongated and narrowed at the end. It chest was small and spherical. Its hip was a flat rotating disc, its three legs were crab like. Its face was just a blank black screen. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone in Defense.

 **Weirdware Cloa** **ker: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1300 **DEF** **/800**

* * *

Back at Hanoi's base, Cloaker's card appeared on their screen, Kogami, Revolver and Spectre watching this, "Good, the program I gave him is working." Kogami said, now they could learn something.

* * *

"When Cloaker is Special Summoned, I can add 1 Weirdware Spell or Trap from my Deck to my Hand!" he added his choice to his Hand. "And since you control more cards then me, I can Special Summon Weirdware Portgate from my Hand! And when Special Summoned this way, I can also Summon 1 other Weirdware monster from my Hand!" he said.

"I Summon Portgate and Spawner!" appearing in the Left Main Monster Zone was Portgate, its pieces shifting and assembling its form.

The second was a taller than Cloaker, and squareish and blocky, its body was blocky, its arms and legs were black, as well as its chest, the rest was red with some silver metal trimmings here and there, and its head was block shaped, like an old television set, all over its body were line cracks, with orange energy filling them. It was Summoned the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Portgate: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 500 **DEF/1400**

 **Weirdware Spawner: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 600 **DEF/200**

"Now I activate the Continious Spell, Weirdware Unlimited Code!" he said, the Spell appeared on the Field. It showed many Weirdware monsters gathered to gather in what appeared to be the matrix.

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he yelled out, sparks flying from his hand, into the air, causing the Link Portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is one Level 3 or lower Weirdware monster!" he said.

"I now set Portgate in the Link Marker!" Portgate turned into a beam of energy that hit the Middle Bottom marker, turning it red. "Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Plug-Charge!" Plug-Charge appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, link to Spawner.

 **Weirdware Plug-Charge: [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/400 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Unlimited Code's effect! Every time a Weirdware monster is Link Summoned, I place 1 Weird Counter on this card!" one counter, which was shaped like a gear appeared above the card. Unlimited Code's Counter Count (Weird): **0 + 1 = 1**.

"Plug-Charge's effect! It gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the monster it points to!" Plug-Charge's tail cord plugged itself into Spawner. Plug-Charge's ATK: **400 + 600 = 1000**.

"I now activate Spawner's effect!" Spawner chest began to open up. "When Linked to a Weirdware Link Monster. Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Weirdware Token in Defense!" Spawner ejected a small node from its chest.

It was on a square stick that narrowed at the bottom, it was segmented and red, and a small ball with a single light for an eye, it was Summoned to the Far Right Main Monster Zone on Codebuster's Field in Defense.

 **Weirdware Token: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Token] ATK/** 0 **DEF/0**

"Again!" the portal appeared once more, " _So even his Deck follows the rules of the Cyberse-Type._ " Lancelot thought. "The Summoning conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters! I now set Link 1 Plug-Charge, Spawner, and the Weirdware Token in the Link Markers!" the three monsters turned into energy, Plug-Charge hit the Middle Top, Spawner the Middle Bottom, and the Weirdware Token hit the Bottom Left, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Weirdware Rewire!" Descending from the portal was his ace, Rewire, who floated down into the Extra Monster Zone that Plug-Charge was in.

 **Weirdware Rewire: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆↙⬇

"He got his ace out!" Ai cheered out, suddenly Rewire turned his head and looked right at Ai, "Errr…." the Ignis muttered, a bit unnerved by it staring at him, "Why is it staring at me?" it whispered to Playmaker, who was confused as well. Rewire then looked forward.

"Unlimited Code gains another Counter!" a second Weird Counter was placed on the card, **1 + 1 = 2** (Unlimited Code) "And then Spawner's effect from the Graveyard activates! When used to Link Summon a Weirdware Link Monster, I can Special Summon up to 2 Weirdware Tokens!" two more Weirdware Tokens appeared, one in the Far Right, the other in the Left.

"Then Cloaker's effect! While linked to Weirdware Link Monsters, you can not target them for effects." Suddenly Rewire became transparent.

"Once more!" the portal appeared again, "The conditions are two Level 3 or lower Weirdware monsters!" he said, "I now set the two Weirdware Tokens in the Link Markers!" the two tokens turned into energy, each hitting the Middle Left and Middle Top, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Weirdware Lag Buffer!" materialising in was a median sized Weirdware monster, it was thin around its legs and chest, its head was a flat disc that was sideways, a single lens for an eye in the middle, with two antennae on either side. It's armed were rather bulky, each was flat, like a shield, the middle was indented and black, for hands it had two bumpers with a cut in star that was a pale blue, its armor was white, it threw a few punches as it landed in the Right Main Monster Zone liked to Rewire. it too became transparent.

 **Weirdware Lag Buffer: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1400 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬆

"Once more Unlimited Code gains another Weird Counter!" he said, **2 + 1 = 3** (Unlimited Code) "I'm impressed! Three Link Summon back to back is amazing, as expected of your calibre." Lancelot said, "But it won't help you at all, I'm still going to win this!" he added grinning.

"We'll see. Rewire's effect! Once per turn, I target 1 monster it points and half that monster's ATK!" Codebuster said. "I target Lag Buffer!" Rewire's cable arm latched itself into Lag Buffer. "Power Draining!" Lag Buffer's ATK: **1400 = 700**.

"Battle! Lag Buffer attacks Medraut!" he ordered, Lag Buffer raised its bumper fist, and ran at Medraut, "I know what happens next, since you control the monster affected by Rewire, my monster is destroyed instead..." Lancelot said.

"Correct! Also you take the damage from that battle!" Codebuster added, Lag Buffer closed in on Medraut, went low and upper cutted the knight, it burst into particles as it was destroyed. **4500 – 1500 = 3000**. (Lancelot)

"And now Rewire will take out Borz!" he said, Rewire began charge purple energy in his cable arm, he condensed it into a small sphere, "Teravolt Discharge!" Rewire winded his arm back, and tossed the energy ball, it curved and hit Borz. Since it was in Defense, no damage was dealt.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn!" he said, two cards appeared on side, then faded. "With it ending, Lag Buffer's ATK returns to normal..." **700 = 1400** (Lag Buffer)

"And with it ending, I activate my Trap, Noble Arms Reclaim!" Lancelot declared, one of his face downs flipped up. The picture was a bunch of swords scattered around on barren ground, knights were collecting the swords that were intact.

"At the end of the turn that Noble Arms Equip Spells are destroyed, I can target one of them and add it to my Hand!" he explained. "I add Caliburn to my Hand." the selected appeared before him, then was added to his Hand. "Then I draw a card from every 2 Equip Spells destroyed." he drew a card.

"So you knew that would happen." Codebuster said.

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"Of course I did. My Turn! I draw!" Lancelot drew his card. "I Normal Summon a second Medraut!" a second Medraut appeared in his Middle Main Monster Zone. "I equip it with Caliburn!" the shining sword appeared in Medraut's hand. His shadow shifted to become demonic. **4 + 1 = 5**. **1700 + 500 = 2200**. (Medraut No. 2)

"I activate Caliburn's effect! Restoring my LP by 500!" **3000 + 500 = 3500** (Lancelot) "Now Medraut's effect! Since I control no other monsters, I can Special Summon a Noble Knight from my Deck in Defense!" he said.

"I Summon Noble Knight Artorigus!" Appearing on his Field in the Right Main Monster Zone was a new knight, in their hand was an ancient but powerful blade. It was Summoned in Defense.

 **Noble Knight Artorigus: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior] ATK/** 1800 **DEF/1800**

"Medraut's effect then destroys the equipped card." Medraut's weapon returned to normal. **5 = 4, 2200 = 1700**. (Medraut No. 2)

"Then I activate my set Spell, Soul Charge!" he said, "Soul Charge!" Codebuster shouted shocked, "That card is old but powerful!" VictoryCrafter said, having been in the crowd.

"I can Special Summon as many monsters from my Graveyard!" Lancelot grinned, "Rise, Medraut and Borz!" the first Medraut appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, Borz to the Far Right, both in Defense. "I then pay 500 LP per Summoned monster." **3500 – 1000 = 2500** (Lancelot)

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to a righteous path!" the Link Portal appeared above, "The Summoning conditions are two Noble Knight monsters!" he said, "I now set the two Medrauts in the Link Markers!" the two Medrauts turned into twisters, hitting the Bottom Left and Right markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights!" appearing from the portal were two woman, one dressed in dark colours, the other in red royal clothing. They were Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Lancelot's Right.

 **Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights: LIGHT [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Isolde's effect! When Link Summoned, I can 1 Warrior-Type from my Deck to my Hand!" he said, adding his choice to his Hand. "I'll add Lady of the Lake!" he added his card. "By doing this, I can no longer Normal, Set or Special Summon monsters with that name or activate their effects for the rest of the turn." he added.

"Now I activate Caliburn's effect from the Graveyard, since sent there, I can equip it onto a Noble Knight! This time it will be Isolde!" the weapon appeared from a dark portal, with the woman in red picking it up. Isolde's ATK: **1600 + 500 = 2100**.

"And now I Overlay the Level 4 Artorigus and Borz" he said, throwing his hand into the air, "It can't be!" Playmaker shouted, just then the network appeared over head, making the crowd awe at it. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Artorigus and Borz broke down into data, and were absorbed into the network, causing a reaction, the ends released four beams that tore a rift into space.

" _King of noble knights, pick up your blade and charge into battle!_ " he chanted, "Xyz Summon! Appear Rank 4, Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights!" jumping out from the light was a new knight. He was decked out in full armour with a red cape, it was lined with fur on some parts with some blue smoky patches on them. Held in his hand a wide long sword. He was Summoned to the Middle Monster Zone on Lancelot's Field, linked to Isolde. Two yellow lights orbited to monster at a distance.

 **Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights: LIGHT, Rank: 4 [Warrior/Xyz/Effect] ATK/2000 DEF/** 2000 **, OLUs: 2**

"Wow! That's an Xyz Monster!" Ai yelled out curious, having never seen one summoned before. "Artorigus's effect! When Xyz Summoned, I can target up to 3 Noble Arms cards in my Graveyard, and equip them onto him!" Lancelot explained.

"I equip Arfeudutyr and Gallatin!" the dark sword appeared in Artorigus's other hand, and his first sword changed to become a narrower sword. "Gallatin gives Artorigus 1000 ATK!" Artorigus's ATK: **2000 + 1000 = 3000**.

"Then I activate Artorigus's effect! By using an Overlay Unit..." one of the units around Artorigus was absorbed into his dark sword, Arfeudutyr. Artorigus's OLUs: **2 – 1 = 1**. "For every Noble Arms Equip spell I control I destroy one Spell or Trap on your Field!" he explained smirking.

"Eh! What a powerful effect!" Ai screamed, Codebuster was there only chance out of here without getting fried by the barrier. "I control 3 Noble Arms cards, So I'll destroy both your face downs and Uploading!" he said.

All three of the swords glowed, Artorigus swung Arfeudutyr and Gallatin, creating a wave of dark and light energy, Isolde's red queen did the same, but a bit slower. "Counter Trap activate, Weirdware Cancellation!" Codebuster shouted.

One of his face downs flipped up, it showed a Weirdware monster being denied something by Rewire.

"When you activate a card that would destroy cards on my Field, I banish a Weirdware Link Monster, it being Plug-Charge..." he said, his Duel Disk told him the Link Monster was now banished.

"Then I can target cards I control up to Link Markers of the banished monster, those cards cannot be destroyed for the rest of the turn." he said.

"I target my other face down." a shield appeared over his second face down, one of the waves hit the barrier and dissolved, the other two hit their marks, but Cancellation was already gone. So only one technically hit its mark.

"If Uploading is face-up when sent to the Graveyard, it's second effect activates! I can Special Summon a Weirdware monster from the Graveyard!" he said, "Appear, Portgate!" Portgate appeared in Codebuster's Left Main Monster Zone in Defense from a dark portal.

"Clever. But it won't help you! Battle! Artorigus attack Rewire!" he ordered, the Xyz Monster, charged at the Link Monster, "I know about Rewire's effect, It can't be destroyed in battle involving a Link 3 or higher monster… But that doesn't apply for Xyz Monsters!" he added grinning.

"Lag Buffer's effect!" Codebuster declared, Lag Buffer pressed one of his bumpers onto Rewire, "When it or a monster its points to is battling, I can activate one of two effects." he said. "I choose that Rewire cannot be destroyed by battle the first time." Artorigus slashed at Rewire, chipping away at Rewire's data, luckily he survived, his wound healing itself. Codebuster's LP: **4000 – 900 = 3100**.

"So your ace lives another day, no matter! It will fall soon! Isolde now attacks Lag Buffer!" Lancelot said, Isolde's red woman, charged at Lag Buffer. "I activate Lag Buffer's effect again!" Codebuster said, shocking the knight.

"It's not a once per turn?" he shouted, "No! If it points to two monsters, Lag Buffer can use this effect twice per turn." Codebuster explained. "I once again negate destruction." Isolde slashed at Lag Buffer, who also survived its battle. **3100 – 700 = 2400** (Codebuster)

"So nothing was destroyed..." VictoryCrafter sighed in relief, "I place one card face-down..." Lancelot said, a card appeared face-down and faded. "Then I activate the Field Spell, Noble Knights of the Round Table!" he said. Beneath his feet a round stone table erupted, he calmly walked off, twisted one of the chairs that also appeared and sat on it.

"And with this I end my turn. But with it ending, Round Table's effect activates!" he said, "At the end of my turn, I can activate this card's effects, depending on the number of Noble Knight monsters with different names in my Graveyard, or that I control..." he explained.

"You control Isolde, Artorigus on your Field, two Medrauts, and the Normal Monster version of Artorigus in your Graveyard, so that's four..." Codebuster noted, Borz was still an Overlay Unit, "Correct, I use the first effect, which requires me to have up to 3 or more of them." Lancelot said.

"I can send one Noble Knight card from my Deck to the Graveyard." he said. He did just that, "My choice will be Noble Knight Gwalchavad!" he said. "So that's 5 with different names..." Playmaker said.

Lancelot's Hand x 1

 **Turn 4**

"This knight is as challenging as Vire was." Ai muttered, "Yeah, it appears Hanoi is full of powerful Duelist." Playmaker said, " _I don't think I'll be able to do this by myself._ " he thought.

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card. "Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" he yelled, and Link Portal appeared. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters." he said.

"I now set Portgate and Link 2 Lag Buffer in the Link Markers!" Lag Buffer split into two, that turned into beams of energy, followed by Portgate, Lag Buffer hit the Middle Left and Top, Portgate the Bottom Left, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 3! Weirdware Decryption!" from the portal appeared the monster. If was a similar build to Rewire, its legs going down from the knees were narrow, the tips of them were studded. These studs were dark grey, its legs were ice blue. It's chest were spherical, on it was a glass circle that contained a blue liquid. Its shoulders were glass orbs with the same liquid, its arms were dark blue, attached on them were two nozzles, they were attached to a back pack by tubes. Its head was V-shaped, the glass screen for its face was glass, filled with the same liquid. It was Summoned to Codebuster's Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Rewire and linked with Cloaker, causing it to become transparent.

 **Weirdware Decryption: WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2100 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆

"Unlimited Code's effect! It gains another Weird Counter!" **3 + 1 = 4** (Unlimited Code) "Then Decyption's effect!" Decryption glowed cyan, "When Link Summoned, it gains ATK equal to the ATK of one of its Link Material with the lowest ATK!" he said. Decryption's ATK: **2100 + 500 = 2600**.

"Then I use Unlimited Code's effect! By removing any number of Weird Counters..." **4 – 4 = 0** (Unlimited Code)"I can activate one of its effects." he said, "For every 2 counters removed, I draw one card." he drew two cards.

"Then I activate Decryption's effect!" Decryption's Link Marker's glowed red, "For every monster it points to, I target a card you control, for the rest of the turn, that card's effect are negated!" he said, shocking the knight.

"Decryption points to Rewire and Cloaker, so I target Caliburn and Gallatin! Data Washout!" Decryption aimed its nozzles at the two cards, and shot out two streams of what appeared to be water at the cards, soaking them.

"With their effects negated, Artorigus and Isolde's ATK return to normal." **3000 = 2000**. (Artorigus), **2100 = 1600**. (Isolde)

"Then I activate Rewire's other effect!" Rewire's cable plugged itself into Decryption, slowly morphing. "Once per turn, I target 1 monster on the Field, and Rewire gains that monster's effect until the end of the next turn." When the arm retracted, it was nearly identical to one of Decryption's arms, Rewire flexed his new arm out.

"Then I use his borrowed effect!" Rewire aimed his new arm at Lancelot's "For every monster it points to, I can negate the effects of one card you control. I pick Arfeudutyr and Isolde!" the nozzle shot out two streams at the selected cards.

"Yes! With this, Codebuster has locked down those Equip Spells!" Ai cheered, "I now switch Cloaker into Attack!" Cloaker readied itself.

"Battle! Decryption attacks Isolde!" Decryption aimed his weapons at Isolde, "Scalding Pressure!" two streams of scalding water shot out and hit the two women of the card. They screamed as they were destroyed. **2500 – 1000 = 1500** (Lancelot)

"And Rewire attack Artorigus! Teravolt Discharge!" once more Rewire charged a ball and threw it at the king. He too was destroyed. **1500 – 200 = 1300** (Lancelot)

"Trap activate, Noble Knight's Undying Will!" Lancelot yelled out, "When Noble Knight monsters equipped with Noble Arms Equip Spells are destroyed, I can banish 1 Equip Spell from my Graveyard per destroyed monster..." he said, he banished Arfeudutyr and a card called Noble Arms of Destiny.

"I can then Special Summon back those monsters, but their effects negated." he said, Isolde and Artorigus appeared both back in their Monster Zones from before. "Damn! All that trouble to get rid of them..." Codebuster gritted out.

"I'll say this once. I will never lose, so long as I can Duel, I'll never be beaten!" Lancelot said, "Does winning mean that much to you?" Codebuster asked, "There is nothing to gain in losing, only in winning can one move forward one step closer to their goals." Lancelot said.

"Are you talking about Revolver?" Playmaker cut in, the two looked to him, " _Revolver?_ " Both VictoryCrafter and AnDru from the outside thought confused, "That is none of your concern Playmaker, you shall meet your end soon though..." Lancelot said.

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn..." Codebuster said, the cards appeared then faded. "With it ending, Decryption's ATK returns to normal..." **2600 = 2100** (Decryption)

Codebuster's Hand x 2

 **Turn 5**

"My turn! I draw!" Lancelot yelled drawing his card. "I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed! I draw 2 cards!" he drew two cards. "Then I Normal Summon Lady of the Lake!" appearing on his field in his Right Main Monster Zone was a woman, dressed in blue, in her arms she carried a sword, it was red on one edge of the blade, the other was blue.

 **Lady of the Lake: LIGHT, Level: 1 [Aqua/Tuner/Effect] ATK/200 DEF/** 1800

"A Tuner monster!" Playmaker shouted, "Lady of the Lake's effect! When Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Noble Knight Normal Monster from the Graveyard!" Lancelot said. "I Summon back Artorigus!" The Normal Noble Knight monster appeared in the Far Right Monster Zone. "Now to commence your defeat!" he yelled red lightning crashing down on his monsters, who began to turn into data.

"Level 1 Lady of the Lake tunes Level 4 Noble Knight Artorigus!" he declared, the data rearranged itself to form two rings, one single green ring and the other red yellow and its multiple rings rotated before coming to stop, then lit up, they then merged with the green, becoming blue.

 **1* + 4* = 5***

" _Noble Knight with tainted thoughts, take out your old brethren..._ " a green dotted ring appeared around the blue ring, which seperated into 5 identical rings. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 5! Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn" from a flash of light, a knight jumped out of it.

This knight was decked out in full dark armor with red trimmings on it, in one hand he appeared to hold Arfeudutyr, the other was a dark form of the blade that Lady of the Lake was holding. His hair was black and long. He was Summoned to the Far Right Monster Zone, linked to Isolde.

 **Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn: DARK, Level: 5 [Warrior/Synchro/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 900

"That's a Synchro Monster up close…" Codebuster said stunned, "Lady of the Lake is banished when used to Synchro Summon." Lancelot said.

"Laundsallyn's effect! When Synchro Summoned, I can equip a Noble Arms card from my Deck onto him!" Lancelot said, "I choose a Caliburn!" the Caliburn floated before Laundsallyn, who attached it onto the dark version of the red and blue sword. "This means that Laundsallyn gains 500 ATK!" Laundsallyn's ATK: **2100 + 500 = 2600**.

"I activate its effect! I now gain 500 LP!" **1300 + 500 = 1800**. (Lancelot)

"Battle! Laundsallyn attacks Decryption!" Laundsallyn laughed as he charged at his target. He slashed at the monster, slicing Decryption in half from the torso, also slicing an arm. **2400 – 500 = 1900** (Codebuster)

"Trap activate, Weirdware Recovery!" Codebuster shouted, one of his face-downs flipped up it had an image a destroyed Weirdware monster, data flowing out of its wounds that were slowly repairing themselves, "When a Weirdware Link Monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, that monster is returned to my Extra Deck..." Decryption was returned to his Extra Deck.

"Then I recover 300 LP times the Link Markers of that monster." **1900 + 300×3 = 900 = 2800** (Codebuster)

"Laundsallyn's effect! When it destroys and sends the monsters it destroyed to the Graveyard, I can add a Noble Arms from my Deck to my Hand." Lancelot said doing that.

"Now Isolde attacks Cloaker!" the two woman charged at Cloaker, who was quickly taken out. **2800 –** **3** **00 = 2** **5** **00** (Codebuster)

"I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Noble Knight's True Path!" Lancelot yelled out, the card appeared showing an army of warrior cutting a path for their enemies.

"I destroy a Noble Arms Equip Spell..." Caliburn was destroyed, **2600 = 2100** (Laundsallyn) "Then target a Warrior-Type, that monster can attack your directly!" this shocked everyone, including Codebuster.

"I select Artorigus!" Lancelot grinned at this. "Now take him out, Artorigus!" the Noble King of knights charged right at Codebuster, running past Rewire, who looked back as he passed him. He got right in Codebuster's area, who was shocked at the size of the knight, who then swung his sword down and slashed at Codebuster across the chest.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed out in pain, the force sending him backwards a few feet, he rolled a few more before coming to a stop. **2500 – 2000 = 500** (Codebuster) "Codebuster!" Playmaker yelled to the fallen Duelist, who had yet to move.

"Matoyia!" Aito screamed from the living room, he wasn't expecting that to happen, he thought he would deal with him quickly, then be back to tell him the experience.

Lancelot from his sit, just shook his head, "I told you. I won't lose this Duel, especially to someone who had already lost before." he said, talking about Codebuster's defeat at Valcry's hands.

Slowly Codebuster began to stir, getting to his knee, taking deep breaths. "Codebuster..." Playmaker muttered, everyone in the barrier was quiet.

"True Path's additional effect, if the targeted monster has yet to attack when I activated it, it can declare a second attack this turn!" he said.

"Finish him Artorigus! True Light's End!" Artorigus slowly walked over to the kneeling Codebuster, and raised his sword above his head, he gave a roar as he swung the sword down.

"Trap activate... , Damage Denser!" Codebuster weakly said, activating his second face-down. "During the turn I take damage from battle or an effect, I can reduce all damage to 0 for the rest of the turn..." he said.

The sword made contact, but Artorigus just tapped him on the head. No damage was dealt. "Hmm, so you held on, like a loser who can't accept their fate." Lancelot said, no longer smirking, in fact, he was annoyed the Duel had come this far.

"I end my turn with a face-down!" he said the card appeared, then faded, "Then I activate Round Table's effect! At the end of the turn, I can activate the following effect, depending on the number of Noble Knights I control on the Field and in my Graveyard." he said.

"I pick the first effect again, I send Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn to the Graveyard." he sent the selected card to the Graveyard.

Lancelot's Hand x 1

 **Turn 6**

Codebuster had yet to make a move, other than breath in and out, "Codebuster..." Playmaker said again. After a while, still nothing had happened. "If you're staying like that, then I guess this means you surrende-" "Your… Wrong..." Lancelot said, but Codebuster cut him.

He slowly got to his feet, and looked right at the knight, "You say you don't gain anything from defeat… Well your wrong..." he said. "From my Duel with Valcry, I learned that I should never underestimate her.." watching from the outside, in their apartment, on their tablet was a woman with dusty blonde hair and purple eyes, smiling as she heard this.

"Your also right about winning, you can move forward with your goal..." he stood up straight, "Which is why I must defeat you, to help them..." he said, no longer breathing heavily.

"Them?" Lancelot said confused, "That's right, I don't just Duel for myself for fun or money, I Duel so someone who can no longer Duel themselves can experience it through me." he said, his voice getting stronger.

"Because that person has suffered… For so long..." he gritted out, "That incident tore them apart, leaving behind a shell of their former life!" he spat out, unaware of the crowd around them, and that this was live. Asuka was crying from the real world.

* * *

"The Incident, so Codebuster knows someone from it too." Kogami said, Revolver was shocked by this revelation.

* * *

"You know someone apart of the Lost Incident!?" Lancelot said shocked, but slapped a hand of his mouth, most people watching were confused at this, " _Damn it! I didn't think he would talk about it here._ " Playmaker thought.

"That's right! They're the reason I'm here..." Codebuster said, then glared at Lancelot, "So that I can pick up the piece of their heart, and give them back the future that was robbed from them!" he yelled out.

"My Turn…!" he placed his fingered over his Deck…

…

…

…

"I DRAW!" he drew his card, then flipped it to see it. "Perfect!" with this card, and some others, he could bring it out. "Portgate's effect! Since you control more cards then me, I can Special Summon it from the Graveyard!" Portgate appeared from a dark portal in the Far Left Main Monster Zone.

"Then I activate the Spell, Weirdware Generator!" he activated the card he just drew. The picture showed a conveyor belt, with many mechanical arms that were putting together Weirdware monster, that were the size of a toy action-figure.

"I target one Weirdware Link Monster, and Special Summon Weirdware Tokens up to that monster's Link Markers..." he said.

"My target is Rewire, who is Link 3, so I Summon three Tokens!" three Weirdware Tokens appeared in the Far Right, Right and Left Main Monster Zones in Defense. "By using this card, Rewire cannot attack this turn.

"Then I Normal Summon Weirdware Duo-ble!" Duo-ble took the only Main Monster Zone that was lefted, which was the Middle one.

 **Weirdware Duo-ble: FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 600

"Whoa! Codebuster has all his Main Monster Zones filled!" Ai yelled shocked, "I'm going to end this! Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" Codebuster yelled out, the portal appeared above.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least 3 Weirdware monster!" he said, at this Playmaker felt a pulse, "What was… That?" he said.

"I now set Portgate and the three Weirdware Tokens in the Link Markers!" Codebuster shouted. The four monster turned into beams of energy. Portgate hit the Middle Left, the Tokens hit the Middle Top, Bottom Left and Right, turning them red. "A new Link 4!" Lancelot cried out in shock.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 4..." the monster started to form.

"Weirdware Fail-safe Dragon!" a pillar of light descended from the portal, and a large shadow also descended, as it landed it shook the ground. When the light faded standing there was- "Firewall Dragon!?" Ai screamed in shock.

Standing before them all, was a large cybernetic dragon, it was like that of Firewall Dragon, but with more armour, but the rings on it were replaced with hexagon rings, the one on its head wasn't complete, as were the ones on its arms at the elbows. The ones on its legs were sideways, and the one on the end of its tail was the tip. It also had more armor than Firewall, it was like that the Weirdware monsters shared, on its wrist were two hexagon panels, with a black hexagon ring in the middle of them, there was a similar panel on its chest that pointed forward.

It's head was nearly identical to Firewall, but its eyes were covered by a visor were a purple line light for the eye. It's wings were skeletal, for the wing membranes they were hexagons fitted together. Most of its armor was dark grey, the exposed parts and the hexagons rings were a light green. It roared as it was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Rewire.

 **Weirdware Fail-safe Dragon: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆↘

"Firewall Dragon has turned on us! How is this possible?" Ai cried out, betrayal in its voice, "It hasn't, this monster is clearly a copy, but how-" Playmaker said, but suddenly though back to Codebuster's Duel Disk did their his Duel with Revolver. " _Is that what happened, did his Deck create this card from Firewall?_ " he thought.

* * *

"So that's what happened yesterday then." Kogami said watching, data of the card, along with other cards of the Weirdware Deck were shown before him, Revolver looked on silently, processing Codebuster words from before.

* * *

"An impressive monster I must say… But it doesn't change a thing!" Lancelot yelled out, "Trap activate, Avalon!" he said, his face-down flipped up.

"This will end your comeback! By banishing five Noble Knight monsters from my Graveyard, two of which must be a Artorigus and Laundsallyn..." 5 cards were banished from his Graveyard, two Medrauts, Borz, Artorigus and Black Laundsallyn.

"Now all cards on the Field are destroyed-" "Fail-Safe Dragon's effect!" Codebuster cut him off, "Once per turn, during either turn, I can negate the activation of a monster, Spell or Trap's effect!" Fail-safe Dragon began to spark of yellow electricity. "Program Rejection!" the electricity launched at Avalon's card.

"Then that card is sent to the Graveyard!" Avalon then vanished. "Yes! Now there's nothing to stop him from ending this!" VictoryCrafter said excited, the crowd began to cheer for the bounty hunter.

"I told you, I'm ending this now!" Codebuster glared at Lancelot, who flinched, "Battle! Fail-Safe Dragon attack Isolde!" Fail-safe exposed body changed from green to orange, a sphere and blue energy began to charge from its mouth.

"Go! Disruptor Burst!" Fail-safe fired the attack, which turned into a beam, "Fail-Safe Dragon's effect! When Co-linked with a Link Monster..." Both Rewire's and Fail-Safe Dragon's markers lit up. "When it battles, it gains 500 ATK for every Co-Link monster on the Field!" this new shocked them all. Fail-Safe Dragon's ATK: **3000 + 1000 = 4000**.

The attack hit Isolde head on, the woman screamed as they slowly deteriorated. "Duo-ble's effect! The first damage from a battle or effect to you is doubled!" Codebuster said, shocking Lancelot further, the beam doubled in strength, and continued past the destroyed Isolde and hit Lancelot, destoying the Round Table too. **1300 – 2400x2 = 4800 = 0** (Lancelot)

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" the knight screamed as he hit the ground, Fail-Safe Dragon began to lifted its head, the beam hit the barrier and made its way up and circled behind Codebuster, when the attack finished, the barrier shattered.

Codebuster: **WINS**

Lancelot: **LOSE**

"He did it! Codebuster has defeated the Knight, Lancelot, and saved the people within the barrier!" the MC yelled out, causing most of both the real word and virtual world to cheer out in relied as the Master Duel layout, as well as the cards on it disappeared.

" _Thank you Fail-Safe Dragon, you came in handy..._ " Codebuster thought to his Deck, which he felt respond back. He then looked forward and made his way over to the knight, his eyes meeting Playmaker's as he passed.

"I'll be coming for you soon." he muttered, even if Playmaker was a victim, he had a job to complete, even if it meant hurting the guy.

On the ground on his back, staring up at the virtual sky was Lancelot, the attack destroyed his helmet, as well as some bits of his avatar's data. "I can't believe it… I lost..." he whispered, suddenly standing over him was Codebuster, who proceeded to yank him by the collar and left him up of the ground.

"Yes you did lose, now it's time to face your punishment." Codebuster said, the sound of the drones approaching could be heard, "I think not." Lancelot growled out, just then his Duel Disk light up, blindly his captor, who quickly let him.

"I did not lose! For my mission wasn't to defeat you, that was an just option!" Lancelot said, his form fading away in pieces, "I'll be back one day, to Duel you again, and come out victorious!" he said, and with that he was gone.

"Well that's new..." Codebuster said, he then turned to face Playmaker, who was already gone, " _Knew that would happen though._ " he sighed out. He then looked around him, to see lots of reporters, that were on the outside, rush at him.

"No questions for today!" was all he said as he logged out, just as they reached him.

With the crisis now over, the people that were the victims were slowly dispersing, some logging off, others going about their days.

" ***Whistle*** That Codebuster sure is something..." VictoryCrafter said, but then thought of something else, " _But what is this Lost Incident they were going on about?_ " he thought. With this, he too decided to logged off…

* * *

That was incredible!" AnDra cheered from the real word, hugging AnDru, "It sure was, for a second I thought they were doomed." Emi said relieved, "What do you think of it AnDru?" she said… "AnDru? AnDru, what's wrong-" she went to asked, but became confused as to why here little brother was staring at the screen, still in some sort of shock.

"AnDru! AnDru what's wrong?" his sister asked, but no respond, the only thing going through his was, " _I think I do need those cards._ " he thought with some fear…

* * *

 **Cafe Haru…**

The data slowly disappeared around Matoyia as he opened his eyes, and sat up, but winced in pain, "Shit! That's going hurt even worst..." he swore out, just then barging into his room, was Asuka and Aito, who looked terrified.

"Matoyia!" they shouted, running over to him and hugged him tight, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" he cried out, making them release him. "Are you okay?" she asked worried, "I'll live, but I think I'll take a break from Link VRAINS for a while..." he said, making her smile with relief.

"Matoyia..." a weak voice sniffed out, making the two look at Aito, who had tears running down his face fast, "That was really dangerous, but also touching for me..." he sniffed, referring to his speech, "It's fine bud… and I meant every word about it, I will pick up the last pieces of your heart, and give you your future." Matoyia declare, holding out a fist for bump…

But this caused Aito to cry even more, and to jump him and hug the live out of his to him, brother, "Matoyia!" the youngest cried out, wiping his nose into the older's chest. "Hey! Watch the shirt!" Matoyia cried out in slight pain. Asuka just watched on, giggling lightly at their moment…

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base…**

"I am sorry, Dr. Kogami-san, Revolver-san, I have failed you..." a kneeling Lancelot said, still damaged from his Duel, "That is fine Lancelot, you may rise." Kogami said, Lancelot did as told, Spectre who was standing to the side raised a hand, this healed the injured knight, restoring him to normal.

"Even in defeat, we have gotten what we wanted out of this..." the lot looked to the screen, where various Weirdware cards were scattered about, "This should allow me to uncover what makes this Deck of Codebuster's work, and for what purpose." Kogami looked to Fail-Safe Dragon's card data.

"That will be all for now Lancelot, you should leave and rest..." Revolver said, Lancelot looked him and saw that Revolver was speaking to his mind, "Yes, I will, goodbye for now…" the knight said, he then looked to Spectre, "Spectre-san." he nodded to him, then logged off.

"So even Codebuster is involved now." Spectre said, "Yes, he appears to be supporting one of the victims, hence his reasoning for becoming a bounty hunter." Revolver concluded. "And like Playmaker, he too will get in our way like nothing before." Kogami said.

"I shall leave now, I must continue with the final plan..." he then teleported off, "So do you think he Katsuo can do it?" Spectre asked Revolver. "I hope so..." he answered, " _I must know which one he is..._ " he thought...

* * *

 **Unknown place, (2:34 PM)**

Standing in a living room apartment, was a young man of 17, with fair skin, and white hair that framed his face, the back of was in a small ponytail. This was Katsuo Sugawara, second year student of Den City Academy. Currently wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned, showing his black under shirt, dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

Currently he was angry, show angry that he- "Damn it!" he swore out, slamming a fist down onto his table. "I shouldn't have lost, if he didn't have that Dragon, I would have won." he seethed. He hated to lose, he rarely lost to anyone, except for Revolver which was excepted.

"No, no, no, no! Calm down..." he slowly inhaled, then breathed out, "Kogami and Revolver are right, I did complete my mission, so I have won..." he said to himself, cheering himself up.

"Now all I need to do is focus on my mission from Revolver..." he said, thinking back to that conversation...

* * *

 **Flashback, (before the Duel)**

"A mission?" Lancelot asked, "Yes, Playmaker has identified himself as a victim of the incident, meaning this puts him roughly the same age as you, or younger..." Revolver began. "This would put him most likely in your school." he added.

"Go on." Lancelot said, "I would like you to search around your school, and try and find any clue on who Playmaker truly is." Revolver said, "Codebuster may also be tied to the school, but he's older than me, so maybe some one knows him closely, I would like for you to also find clues on Codebuster or anyone close to him." he said.

"I don't know Revolver-san, this is an honor to be picked for this mission, but you know me, I don't like to mix my real life with this one..." Lancelot said. "I won't take no for an answer!" Revolver said, making him flinch.

"Very well then, I except this mission for you..." he said bowing to his leader…

* * *

 **End of Flashback**

"So Revolver believe Playmaker goes to my school..." he said looking out his window, "Maybe he's right, if so, I must do as requested of him, and search for clues..." he said. "But I must also be ready for them in Link VRAINS..." he muttered, glaring into the sky...

* * *

 **Cafe Nagi, (6:12 PM)**

"This is intriguing." Shoichi said, staring at the screen with data images of Firewall Dragon, and Fail-Safe Dragon side by side, stats and other data surrounded, "Their data is nearly identical, if the Weirdware data wasn't in Fail-Safe Dragon, they would be twins." he said.

"But how did his Deck do it?" Ai asked, "It must have been that scan Codebuster's Deck did, before you woke up." Yusaku said. "My best guess as well..." Shoichi said. "That Deck is full of surprises..."

"We've learned three things today." Yusaku said, "One: Hanoi has taken an interest in Codebuster, most likely due to recent events with the Weirdware Deck, that would explain why Lancelot wanted to Duel Codebuster, to gather intel on it." he held a finger out.

"Two: Codebuster had openly declared that he knows someone from the incident, and is supporting them, this can only mean that Matoyia Guriddo is in fact Codebuster, supporting Aito Haru, who now been proven as a victim." he held a second thing.

"And three: The Weirdware Deck has the capabilities to scan and make near identical cards from my Deck, most likely it was a strong Cyberse monster that caused the scan to activate." he finished.

"Wait! If that's true, then why didn't the Deck scan Decode and Encode Talker?" Ai asked, "Maybe Firewall Dragon was the catalyst that first activated the Deck programming, it may scan them should we face it and Codebuster." Yusaku guessed.

"Ah! That would be horrible! First Fail-Safe from Firewall, who knows what will come from Decode and Encode!" Ai shivered, just imagining the powerful Weirdware versions of the Code Talkers.

"Still the time that the card was created is impressive." Shoichi said, "It took me nearly a day to make physical cards for Decode and Encode, and that deck did it in half the time." he said impressed.

"I say we stay about 100 yards of Codebuster!" Ai suggested serious, "No we will end up facing him someday." Yusaku said, " _And when that times comes, I'll be ready._ " he thought, staring into space, where he could picture Codebuster and Fail-Safe Dragon…

End of Chapter 10

* * *

 **Lancelot/Katsuo Sugawara was created by Jalen Johnson, just one of his OC's for this story, his second will show up in Season 2. As for the mystery woman, you'll find out soon...**

 **(Lancelot)**

 **Noble Arms Reclaim**

 **Normal Trap**

At the end of the turn, that "Noble Arms" Equip Spell(s) are destroyed and sent to the GY: Target 1 of those cards; add it to your Hand, then draw 1 card for every Equip Spell that was destroyed.

 **Noble Knight's Undying Will**

 **Normal Trap**

When "Noble Knight" monsters equipped with "Noble Arms" Equip Spells are destroyed: Banish 1 Equip Spell per destroyed monster; Special Summon back those monsters, but negate their effects until they have an Equip Spell equipped onto them.

 **Noble Knight's True Path**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

During your battle phase, destroy 1 "Noble Arms" Equip Spell equipped onto a "Noble Knight" monster, then target a Warrior-Type monster you control, that monster can attack your opponent directly. If that monster has already declared an attack, it can declare a second attack this turn.

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Weirdware Cloaker**

 **LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/800**

If you control no monsters: Special Summon this card. If this card is Special Summoned: Add 1 "Weirdware" Spell or Trap card from your Deck to your Hand. While this card is linked to "Weirdware" Link Monster(s), apply this effect: "Weirdware" Link Monsters linked to this card cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.

 **Weirdware Spawner**

 **EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/600 DEF/200**

If this card is used as Link Material, to Link Summon a "Weirdware" Link Monster: Special Summon up to 2 "Weirdware Tokens" (Level: 1/Cyberse-Type/EARTH/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) If this card is linked to a "Weirdware" Link Monster, apply this effect: Once per turn, Special Summon 1 "Weirdware Token" in DEF Position.

 **Weirdware Unlimited Code**

 **Continious Spell**

Each time a "Weirdware" Link Monster is Link Summoned: Place 1 "Weird" Counter on this card (max. 6). Once per turn, remove any number of "Weird" Counters from this card, apply 1 of the following effects: 1) Draw 1 card for every 2 "Weird" Counters removed. 2) Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Weirdware" Link Monster whose Link Rating is equal to the number of "Weird" Counters you removed for this effect (This Special Summon is treated as a Link Summon.) This card cannot be destroyed as long as it has at least 2 "Weird" Counters.

 **Weirdware Generator**

 **Normal Spell**

Target 1 "Weirdware" Link Monster you control: Special Summon "Weirdware Tokens" (Level: 1/Cyberse/EARTH/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) up to the Link Rating of the target. That target cannot declare an attack for the rest of the turn. You can banish this card from your Graveyard; add 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Deck to your Hand. You can only activate each effect of "Weirdware Generator" once per duel.

 **Weirdware Cancellation**

 **Counter Trap**

When your opponent activates an effect that would destroy any number of cards on your Field: Banish 1 "Weirdware" Link Monster from your Graveyard; target cards on your Field up to Link Rating of the banished monsters, they cannot be destroyed for the rest of the turn. You can banish this card from your Graveyard, target 1 "Weirdware" Link Monster you control: return it to your Extra Deck, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Graveyard, whose ATK is less then the returned monster.

 **Weirdware Recovery**

 **Normal Trap**

When a "Weirdware" Link Monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: Return that monster to your Extra Deck, and if you do; Gain 300 Life Points x the Link Rating of that monster. When you take battle damage while this card is in the GY: Banish it, and if you do; Special Summon from your Deck or add to your Hand 1 "Weirdware" monster with ATK or DEF less or equal to the damage you took.

 **Weirdware Lag Buffer**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1400 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬆

2 Level 3 or lower "Weirdware" monsters

During either player's turn, when this card or a monster this card points to is battling, target 1 of them, activate 1 of the following effect: 1) The target cannot be destroyed by battle the first time it battles that turn. 2) You can take no battle damage involving the target. If this card points to 2 monsters: the above effect can be used twice per turn.

 **Weirdware Decryption**

 **WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2100 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆

2+ "Weirdware" monsters

When this card is Link Summoned: This card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of 1 of its Link Material with the lowest ATK until the end of the turn. Once per turn, target cards your opponent controls up to the number of monsters this card points to: They have their effects negated for the rest of the turn. You can tribute 1 card this card points to: Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" with 1500 ATK or less from your Graveyard or banished zone to the zone the tributed monster was in. You can only use this effect once per turn.

 **Weirdware Fail-safe Dragon**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆↘

3+ "Weirdware" monsters

Monsters this card points to are unaffected by your opponent's card effects. Once, during either player's turn, should a monster's effect, Trap or Spell card activate: (Quick Effect) negate the activation of that effect, and if you do, send that card to the Graveyard. If this card points to at least two monsters when the above effect is activated and resolved: This card can declare a second attack during that battle phase. While this card is Co-linked to a monster: If this card battles; it gains 500 ATK for every Co-Linked monster on the Field until the end of the turn.


	11. Chapter 11: New challengers approach!

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or TV_ "

* * *

 **Den City Hospital, (An hour after Codebuster's Duel)**

Leaving the hospital in a wheelchair was Aoi, her brother pushing her, "So you've been demoted..." Aoi muttered quietly, her brother having just informed her of what happened. "Yes, but it does not matter, our income has not changed that much." Akira said back.

"Oh..." she looked down at her hands. "Something wrong?" he asked, "..." she remained quiet for a moment, "This is my fault..." she finally said. "No Aoi, its mainly my fault." he said back shocking her. "I devoted myself entirely to my work, all so that we would never go back to that life we had before..." he began. "However, I now realise that due to my work, I wasn't really apart of your life as you grew." he added.

"And as you grew, you wanted to show me that you didn't need to be dependent on me, so that I could take less hours off." he said, "Am I right?" he asked, "Yes." she muttered. "Well your plan did work in a way." he said smiling, making her smile slightly. They then reached their Limousine, after being seated, they were off to their home.

"I saw the Duel that took place..." Aoi said, "Oh, What did you think?" he asked, hoping she didn't ask what he thought she would. "Good..." she trailed off, "Brother, what is the lost incident?" she asked, having heard Codebuster mention it during his speech. "No idea Aoi, but I think we should leave it at that." he said, "And since you brought up Dueling, I don't want you to Duel as Blue Angel anymore." he said, "I don't want something like this to happen again." he finished.

Aoi was disheartened to hear this, but she knew it would happen eventually, "Yes brother." she finally said. "By the way, how did I get to the hospital? Before I went into Link VRAINS, I was on the rooftop of the school, so who brought me to it?" she asked. "A student found you during break, when he went to get fresh air." Akira said, that was the student who told him a few days ago.

"What was their name?" she asked, "Yusaku Fujiki." he answered, shocking her, " _Fujiki! Did he really help me, even after I was rude to him back then..._ " she thought, and then smile "I'll have the thank him when I return to school." she said, "That may take a bit longer to do, as you'll be staying at home for a while, just to make sure there are no side effects to that Virus that was implanted." Akira said, making Aoi smile lessen. "I'll talk to your principal to allow you to continue studying at home via online, just so you don't fall back on school when you go back." he added. "Okay." she said, and with that the rest of the journey was in silences...

* * *

 **Unknown Apartment, Monday, (7:00 AM)**

 ***Beep! Beep! Beep Bee-*** A Hand pressed the snooze button on the alarm near their bed. Said hand retracted back under the covers of the bed, where a lump was just waking up. " ***Yawn*** Morning already..." a tired voice groan out from the covers, they slowly shed them off, revealing a scruffy head of black bed hair. "Well, I guess I may as well get ready." she put on her bunny slipper and got out of the bed.

"My first day of school..." she smiled, picturing the look of someone from her childhood. "I wonder what you'll think once you see me, Yusaku.." she then went to get ready...

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story, (7:45 AM)**

"Now are you sure you're okay, Aito?" Asuka asked kneeling down in front of Aito, inspecting his face, "Yes sis, I'm fine..." he said slowly, while she moved his face around, "Seriously Asuka, he's fine." Matoyia said drinking some coffee, having been up late trying to find info, on the Lost Incident in SOL's databanks. "I want to make sure something like that doesn't happen to my baby boy again." she retort, not noticing the blush now sporting her brother's face at that last bit.

"Really sis, I'm fine..." he said back, "Okay then..." she sighed out getting up, "Now make sure you don't cause a scene when you get there." she said, making Matoyia roll his eyes, " _When has he after made a scene? He's like a wall flower._ " he thought smiling. "And make sure that this Shima guy apologises to you, or I swear I'll-" "Asuka!" Matoyia cut her off with a small glare. "Fine... I won't kick his ass..." she muttered out.

"Just try and get through the day bud." Matoyia said to him, "Now do you want me to drive you there, or do you think you can walk?" he asked, "I think I'll walk, I may meet up with Yusaku..." Aito said, and with that he turned and left the room, heading down stair and out the building.

"He'll be fine Asuka, and you know it." Matoyia said as Asuka stared at the door Aito walked out of, "I know, but still... This whole ordeal has set him back..." she said, "Not really from what I've seen these last few days." he remarked, over the past few days, when he doing some things around the house, he swear he could hear Aito muttering something, but it was so quiet, he couldn't hear what it is. " _Whatever he muttering seems to have helped him a bit. But what is he saying?_ " he thought.

"Right, I'll get changes and meet downstairs in a hour..." he said, getting up. "I just need to do my patrol of Link VRAINS, can't have Hanoi knowing they got me good in anyway." he then walked to the landing and went upstairs. " _Hopefully Codebuster's help today won't be needed._ " he thought and hoped...

* * *

 **Doji's Books, Second Story (7:58 AM)**

Akane sipped her coffee in the kitchen, just finishing off a chapter of the book she was reading, she would continue after the work day. "Up already Akane?" an elderly voice broke her concentration. She looked from her book to see Doji, her caretaker/father figure. Doji was an elderly man of 63, he stood at full height just short of Akane. He wore a simple orange button up sleeve shirt with checkers stripes on it, brown trouser, with suspenders over his shoulders. His eyes were mostly close, but magnified by his big round glass. His small patch of hair with grey white.

"Morning Doji." she said back, "I made you some breakfast." she gestured to a bowl of bran flakes, "Thank you my dear." Doji took his seat and tucked into his meal. Akane then turned back to her book, enjoying the silence of the kitchen.

"By the way Akane..." Doji suddenly said, this confused her, as the two usually sat in silence in the morning... and for most of their meals after that, that was their routine. "What happened with your Dueling? You used to always go into Link VRAINS, but now, you don't, did something?" he asked concerned.

"Well..." she began, "With the Knights of Hanoi now around more than usual, I thought it would safer to stay away until they're gone..." she said, "but dear, that shouldn't stop you from Dueling when they're not around, you can still go in and Duel, but if Hanoi do show up, you can easily log out, what's stopping you?" he asked concerned.

"I think I should get ready for the day." she suddenly said, getting up and going to her room to get changed.

Now in her room, which housed a bookshelf with all her books, she changed into her clothes for work, which was a cream colours shirt, underneath a lime green jumper and light blue jeans with her black trainers, she would put on her name tag when she went down to the book store.

After changing and brushing her hair, she thought on Doji's words, " _What is stopping me? Nothing really..._ " she thought frowning at her reflection, " _Well there is something, my sister..._ " She gazed harder at her reflection, seeing someone who looked just like her, but with shorter hair and grey eyes. "Kyoko..." she muttered.

Just muttering that name, brought up memories, memories she had locked away for so long...

* * *

 **Flashback (10 Years ago)**

"Sis, what's going on? Why do we need to leave?" an 8 year old Akane, or Monika Taki as she went by back then asked her 20 year old sister, Kyoko Taki, who was holding her hand as she lead her little sister to the car where all there belongings were packed in the back.

"We're leaving the city, we need to get away before they come for us..." Kyoko muttered as she walked, suddenly Monika got out of her sister's grip. "What are doing Monika? We need to get-" "No! I'm going any where until you tell me what's going on?!" Monika yelled out, shocking her sister.

"For the past 6 months, you've been distant... You come back late, and you never have time for me anymore..." she sniffled out, "And now suddenly, you rush home and force us to leave our home, but what for? And who is coming for us?" she demanded, her sister remained silent, refusing to answer until tears gathered in Monika's eyes.

"Fine... I'll tell you..." she caved, and told her sister what she had been doing... She saw the shock on her little sister's face as she told her, which she saw coming

"How... How could you be a part of something so... so... So Heinous!" Monika said, still shocked at what she had heard.

"Heinous? That project may just save humanity from extinction, yes I feel guilty that those children had to suffer, but it was for a greater cause..." Kyoko knelt down in front of her sister, who looked down at her feet. "Please understand Monika, this is for the good of all of us... Now please..." she reached out for Monika's shoulder, "Let's-" "Don't touch me!" Monika screamed out, quickly moved backwards, shocking her Kyoko when she looked at her with red puffy eyes, tears streaming down her face.

"The- ***Sniff*** The Kyoko I know would never do anything like that, you're not her!" she screamed, she then turned around and ran off, "Monika!" her sister screamed for her, she didn't look back...

* * *

 **End of Flashback...**

And that was the last time she saw her, after an hour of her wandering the streets back then, she had calmed down, by which she had slowly made her way home... Only to discover that their home was a lit with fire, Kyoko's doing she guessed she lefted, it broke her heart even more at that, her sister had burned down the home they had lived in and made memories together.

With no home lefted, she left the city, changed her name to Akane Yamamoto, just in case Kyoko came looking for her, she travelled from city to city, looking for work, sadly she didn't find much, a few years later, she came back to Den City, but with no money, she was forced to live on the streets.

That was until a kind elderly man named Doji found her and took her in as a daughter, becoming somewhat her second father.

Doji owned a book shop, which he also lived over, he allowed him to work for him, making some small money, for rent and some for what she wanted. She used her saved money buy herself a Deck and a Duel Disk, taking up Dueling in Link VRAINS as a hobby.

Sadly she didn't do that anymore, it began when Hanoi announced itself to the world as back then when her sister told her about the project she was working on which was called 'The Hanoi Project' she put two and two together, and believed the two were related, fearing her sister finding her, she hasn't returned to VRAINS since that.

Akane looked over at her Duel Disk, " _Well... With Playmaker and Codebuster around, I could maybe go back in..._ " she thought walking over to the device.

Mentioning the two, she thought back on the day Playmaker made his debut, she like many others girls and woman thought he was handsome, same with Codebuster, and back then she was amazed as the two took on Hanoi, Playmaker more than Codebuster for her.

For Codebuster, it was his bounty hunting profession that drew her in, he brought in bad people all the time, sure most Bounty Hunters did that kind of thing, but he the only one that dealt with Hanoi, the others were just scared or didn't do it if no money was involved.

She then thought on Codebuster's Duel yesterday, against the Knight Lancelot, and how he openly declared that he was supporting someone from that project.

Those two were the only two fighting Hanoi so far, she thought, and then an idea hit her, " _What if i can make that three?_ " she thought grinning slightly.

It made sense to her, sure Playmaker and Codebuster were great Duelist, but there were only two of them, and Hanoi's numbers were huge! Some say getting bigger and bigger slowly. So what if she could help them.

" _Kyoko must be involved with Hanoi, that was the name of that despicable project._ " she thought frowning, disgusted by the very thought of that project, just thinking of all the pain and suffering those kids went through.

" _What's stopping you?_ " Doji's words entered her head again, "Nothing... Nothing is stopping me from doing this." she said out loud, "What was that dear?" Doji voice asked, as he walking by her room. "Err... nothing." she said, "Okay then, be down when you're ready." he said, followed by the sound of him walking down the stairs.

When he was down stair, she focused back on her Duel Disk, "If I'm going to do this, I need to be ready." she said, she walked over to her computer and made some adjustments to her Deck... Maybe her avatar as well...

* * *

 **Den City's Studio, (8:23 AM)**

"What! Codebuster was Dueling a Knight of Hanoi yesterday!? Why weren't we told about this?" A short man wearing green suspenders over a pale green shirt yelled to his boss, his hair, or what was left shaped around the sides of his head, leaving his top bold. Standing next to him was a tall skinny man, wearing squares glassed pasty man.

"We tried to get a hold of you, wasn't our fault you didn't pick up the phone because you were busy finding info on Playmaker. Who by the way, was also there." their boss said.

"I told you should've answered the call, Yamamoto." the tall one said to his short partner, "Don't call me that in Link VRAINS Saito!" the now named Yamamoto yelled to his partner, "But this is the real world..." Saito said back, "Oh..." Yamamoto said.

"Well anyways, get back to finding a scoop!" their boss interrupted. "You two are starting to fall behind, all because you're obsessed with Playmaker, you can work on that on your own time, but you need to cover other storied... Or else..." he muttered ominously.

* * *

"I can't believe him! Why doesn't he want info on Playmaker? That story would be great for the company!" Yamamoto ranted as he and Saito made their way out of the building. "But boss, its impossible! Playmaker is covering his tracks, no one can find info on him..." Saito said, "No one... But her..." Yamamoto said, "Hurry Saito! We must enter Link VRAINS and contact her!" he yelled and started to run. "Her!?" Saito yelled and chased after his boss.

On their way out, Yamamoto also ran into someone entering the building. "Hey! Watch where your going!" Hayato yelled back as Yamamoto ran by followed by Saito. "Rude... man Frog and Pigeon must be desperate now a days..." he said and entered the building.

As he walked, he thought on the past two days, " _Damn that Playmaker, halting my chances of getting Miku back._ " he clenched a fist as he walked, " _Revolver should've won that Duel, Playmaker just got lucky with that dragon of his, without it, he was a goner._ " He could just picture Playmaker's defeat during that Duel.

" _Playmaker... When we face off, I'm going to destroy both you and that Ignis!_ " he declared determined, " _Miku... Just wait a bit more longer..."_ He pictures his sister as he stepped into the elevator as it closed behind him...

* * *

 **Den City High School, (8:34 AM)**

Making their way to the school gates was Yusaku, by himself with no Duel Disk with Ai with it, he needed to be away from the A.I. for a while, still contemplating Revolver's words, " _Can A.I. have free will? It doesn't seem possible._ " he thought, then again Ai was a tad strange even for an AI, " _I need to find out more on it, and Hanoi, Revolver must know more about it._ ".

"Hi Yusaku..." a quiet voice stopped his voice, he looked back, and was shocked to see Aito Haru walking towards him, "Aito, I see your better." he said, hoping the boy was now fine, "Yeah I am..." he muttered.

The two walked in silence.

"Thank you..." Aito said, making Yusaku look at him, "For those words you said back in the reception, they really helped calm me down when I thought about..." he stopped himself, but Yusaku knew what he going to say, "It's okay, you don't need to tell me." Yusaku said, making Aito smile. "Thank you..." he muttered.

"Do you think you could help me catch up...?" he asked, "Sorry, I don't really pay attention in class, so no on that." he answered, "Oh, alright then..." the two then walked in silence...

A few yards behind them was Katsuo Sugawara, dress in his school uniform, his under shirt being red, meaning he was second year student. He carefully peered around at the people walking around him.

" _It's been ten years since that project, so it's likely Playmaker is a student at this school..._ " he thought looking for anything that would help him uncover Playmaker's true identity.

" _Maybe I could trick him into revealing himself! I could request that Revolver send out a Knight, Playmaker will hopefully come to deal with him, if I request it to happen at lunchtime, I'm likely to see someone wander out the cafeteria, and that will be my main lead on Playmaker_ " he thought.

He quickly brought out his phone and texted Spectre about his idea, a moment later Spectre replied okay to that plan. But then I thought of something, " _Wait, I forgot about Codebuster, I won't fall for that plan that Vire came up with a while back, so he'll get in the way._ " he thought annoyed, also thinking back on defeat at said person, making him grit his teeth.

" _And that's another thing I need to do now, since Codebuster actually knows someone from the incident, they also likely are a student at the school, like Revolver-san said yesterday._ " he thought. "So that's two people in this big school that I need to look out for. Great..." he muttered sarcastically. "Excuse me!" a girl in the girl's school uniform rushed past him.

"Never seen her before, transfer student?" he guessed, "Ah well, it don't matter, Playmaker clearly isn't a girl." he said, "And I don't think she's a victim, she seems to chipper for someone whose been traumatised." he added...

* * *

"I'm really sorry!" Naoki yelled out, bowing to Aito when he entered the room, "Umm... That's okay..." Aito muttered, a bit unnerved, Naoki was making a scene, it didn't help that students were staring at him when he entered the building, some even came up and asked if he was okay, " _Guess they all knew about the panic attack..._ " he thought.

"No it's not! I shouldn't forced headset onto you! I was just really excited to Duel!" Naoki shouted, "Really it's fine now, I know you didn't mean it, so can we just get past it...?" Aito asked, "Okay..." Naoki said letting it go.

"Aito!" two girls shouted and rushed and hugged Aito from both sides, it was AnDra and Ayano Matsumoto, just walking in was AnDru, "Thank god you okay! We were worried about you since you left!" AnDra said rubbing her cheek over Aito's head, he was blushing at the close contact with the girls, "You two leave him alone, he's been through enough." AnDru said.

The two girls let him go, "Wow AnDru, you look awful!" Naoki suddenly said, they all looked at AnDru, to confirm this, he looked exhausted, as thought he had been up all night. "I... couldn't get to sleep last night." he said, "Hey! I had a nightmare, not my fault you let me sleep in your room." AnDra said, making the lot look at her in awkward silence.

"No... That didn't keep me up." AnDru said, like that wasn't concerning to say, "What did then?" Aito asked, "That Duel Codebuster has yesterday." he answer, that Fail-Safe Dragon scared him for some reason. "Oh that Duel was amazing!" Naoki shouted, he then reached into his bag and took out his notepad, "I managed to download a video on that Duel, for a small fee from !" he smirked as he typed on the pad and brought up a video, letting them see what was on the screen.

"We're sorry to say this video has been removed." Ayano read on the screen. "WHAT!" Naoki yelled, looking at the screen, "How!? This website guarantees nothing can remove the video, I guessed Codebuster would remove it like usual from the site, but I've thought I was smart this time!" he cried out, "Guess Codebuster is just smarter." Yusaku said, making Naoki go white as a statue. "Agreed..." AnDru said, secretly worried if that was true. "My money..." Naoki cried out quietly...

* * *

Alright class, before we begin the lesson..." the teacher began, everyone taking their seat, most were talking about the girl in the uniform standing at front. "We have a transfer student with us today, would you care to introduce yourself?" they asked, the girl nodded and stepped forward.

"Hello, my name is Kasumi Kazusaki from Tokyo! Please take care of me!" she said smiling with a bow, she then looked up and smiled at someone, said someone was Yusaku, who was confused by this. "Thank you Kasumi, you may take a seat now, I think there is one at the back." the teacher said.

She nodded and walked up the stairs, many of the male student stared at her, mostly due to the way she was swaying her hips with each step. "Please sit next to me. Please sit next to me. Please sit next to me." Naoki repeated under his breath.

When she the back row, Naoki looked up and saw her smiling, making him smiled wide... Until she walked past him and sat next to Yusaku, leaving him devastated at that.

"Long time no see, Yusaku!" she said smiling at Yusaku, "Huh?" he said narrowing his eyes at her, which wasn't what she expected, "How do you know me?" he asked, she was shocked by this, but recovered, "That's for me to know, and you to find out." she said leaning close to him, putting him on edge, sweating slightly. She quickly leaned away turning to the front to pay attention.

"Wow... She sure is a flirt." Naoki muttered dreamily, "I wish I was Yusaku..." he said under his breath.

Yusaku was baffled with this new girl, there was something to her, but he couldn't figure out what. " _Maybe she'll tell me, when its just us allow..._ " he thought, fighting down a blush at the thought of him alone with a girl he barely knew, " _It'll probably be like with Aoi that time._ " he thought, " _Speaking of Aoi, I wonder how she's been?_ " he thought back onto the bobbed cut girl... With beautiful brown eyes... that time he actually did blush, making Kasumi grin.

" _I think he remembers..._ " she thought smiling...

* * *

 **Café Haru, (10:10 AM)**

"Here you go, Go!" Matoyia walking over to Go's table, a bowl of ramen in hand on tray, "Thanks!" Go said and brought his hands together. "itadakimasu!" he said and then took his chopstick and tucked in. Matoyia stuck around for a moment, "So how have the orphans been? Cheering you on again?" he asked, "Yes, as well as Codebuster and Playmaker." he said after swallowing.

"You were right, they do have enough adoration for more than one person, and I'm now okay with that." he said, making Matoyia smile at that, "I wish to challenge them again someday, but Codebuster seems to have all but vanished, he like Playmaker has been erasing his log-in times. But I hope he keeps that promise for another Duel, Playmaker not so much." Go said. He then changed the subject. "I see you put up a jar for donations on the counter." the two looked over at the counter, where a glass jar was held on, it was half full with yen.

"Yeah, after you told me about the orphanage, a persuaded Asuka to put up a jar, we do well, and get great reviews online, adding a donation jar for an orphanage will help the Café." Matoyia answered, making Go smile at this. "Thanks, but you don't need to do that, I can support the orphanage just fine." Go said, "I know, but it never hurt to have help." he said back.

"What did you think of that Duel yesterday?" Matoyia suddenly asked, "It was good, but I think my Duel against him was better than the Hanoi Scum he Dueled yesterday." he answered, "That Fail-Safe Dragon will be tough to get by from what I saw." he added.

Suddenly the bell of the front door chimed, Matoyia turned to meet Yui, Hiroshi and Sora walking in, Sora was the most excited when he spotted Go sitting down, "Ha! Told you Go comes here! You own me a meal!" Sora said to Hiroshi, who groaned at that. "Hey guys, let me get you a table." Matoyia said, "See ya Go!" he said and walked off, the three followed him to a vacant table near Go, they sat down, after giving their orders... Sora then stared at Go's direction, putting Go off his food slightly...

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base, (12: 20 AM)**

"Yes! This Weirdware's DNA is most fascinating!" Dr Genome exclaimed, he, Faust and Valcry were looking over the data of the Weirdware monsters that were collected yesterday from Lancelot's Duel with Codebuster, "Focus Genome! Dr Kogami put us in charge of uncovering intel on this Deck, he believes there is more to it than it lets on." Faust said.

You two can do what you want, I'm only here to think up a strategy for when I Duel this Deck someday." Valcry said looking over at the cards, just then Spectre teleported in. "Anyone seen Revolver?" he asked, "Tending to his father in the real world, last I checked, why do you ask?" Faust answered and asked. Just then Revolver teleported in.

"What do you need Spectre?" Hanoi's Leader asked.

"Lancelot has requested that a Knight be sent into VRAINS to lure Playmaker, he said he wants to confirm something where he is." Spectre answered. "Ha this must be for his mission." Revolver said, he then snapped his fingers, summoning a standard knight, this one however had blue replacing the green.

"Go and lure Playmaker out, do not engage Codebuster, should he show up instead." he said, he then held a hand out, where a card materialised, "Take this, even if this is to confirm something for Lancelot, use this card and defeat Playmaker if you can." he said, "Yes my lord." they bowed and teleported away.

"Yes! I think I found something!" Genome shouted with glee, smiling like a manic, everyone's attention was then focused on the screen, where new data was being shown. "What is this...?" Revolver said looking at the data with awe and confusion...

* * *

 **(13:05 PM)**

Back with Yusaku, he was having lunch, sitting next to him on his table was the regular Naoki and once again, Aito, AnDru, AnDra and Ayano were also on the table, the two girls on either side of him. As usual Naoki was on his notepad looking into Link VRAINS.

"Aww man... There's nothing happening in Link VRAINS..." Naoki groaned switching through multiple locations. "You say that like its a bad thing." AnDru said, eating his meal. "Yeah, Link VRAINS deserves a break for a day." Ayano said. "I know but still, I want to see Playmaker or Codebuster..." he whined. "Playmaker won't show up unless it involves Hanoi..." Aito said.

"Yeah, you make it sound like you want Hanoi to attack." a new voice said walking up to them, they looked to see Kasumi walking up to them, tray of food in hand, "Mind if I sit down?" she asked, looking at Yusaku, "Sure..." Aito, moving over so she could sit down next to Yusaku, as he was sitting neat him before.

"So have you been enjoying it here in Den City?" AnDra asked, being nice, "Oh I've been to this city before, I just had to leave ages ago sadly" she said, "So how do you know Yusaku?" AnDru asked, he was confused how she knew him but he didn't know her.

"Well, I can tell you..." she said, reaching her hand over to touch his hand, "Over a meal..." she purred out grinning, just then AnDra pushed her hand away from his and brought AnDru into a protective hug, "Don't you dare touch him!" she growled out defensively.

"Err... okay..." she muttered, "I was only playing." she added, "We'll keep you hands off my brother!" AnDra barked, tightening the hug. This made the group awkward, Ayano was glaring at AnDra for some reason.

"So how do you know Yusaku...?" Aito asked, "I don't know..." she teased, "Just tell us! Why do you know someone like Yusaku!?" Naoki yelled out, wanting something interesting to happen.

"Oh fine, seeing that Yusaku-kun hasn't figured it out yet..." she winked at said person. She was about to speak- "HANOI!" Naoki suddenly yelled out, somewhat in shock and a bit of excitement.

The group turned their focus onto his notepad, which did reveal a knight of Hanoi, but this one had blue instead of green. "Finally something interesting!" he said, "So you did want this to happen?" Kasumi said, making Naoki sweat, "No-No-No! This is just a coincidence, they're after Playmaker after all." he said.

" _Damn it, I can't suddenly leave or they'll get suspicious..._ " Yusaku thought, " _Plus my Duel Disk is at home._ " he added, " _So now I'm forced to rely on Codebuster to deal with the Knight, next time, I'll have to be alone..._ " he thought, hoping Codebuster dealt with this soon.

At the back of the Cafeteria was Katsuo leaning against a wall, watching as many students brought out their pads to watch Link VRAINS. " _Perfect, now if someone is Playmaker in here, they'll leave to go into it, they'll be my suspect._ " he thought grinning, whilst he waited he also brought out his pad and watched Link VRAINS, keeping an eye on the room...

* * *

 **Café Haru...**

"Not another attack?" Yui pouted, as the TV's hanging around wall show the knight soaring about, "What do you expect, they're after that coward Playmaker." Sora muttered annoyed. "Playmaker! Codebuster! Take him out!" Hiroshi cried out, making a scene.

Meanwhile Matoyia was sweating slightly, " _Great, just what I need, Hanoi attacking again..._ " he thought annoyed, he looked over the room, which was packed, " _I can't leave the room, or someone, mainly my friends could get suspicious of me._ " he added, "Matoyia, why don't you get me some more pastries" Asuka whispered to him, signalling a code.

"I think we should leave it to him to deal with..." he whispered back, " _Besides, he owns me one for saving him back there._ " he thought...

* * *

 **Doji's Books, (5 minutes later)**

" _Playmaker! Come on out and face me!_ " the knight shouted from the TV, Akane was watching from her living room, having a break, she decided to put the TV on as she ate her meal.

" _They're not coming, something must be up_ " she thought, she then smiled, "This means its my turn!" she quickly got up and ran to her room, grabbed her Duel Disk and slipped it on as she layed down on her bed.

"Into the VRAINS!" she said...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS...**

"Hmmm" the knight hummed looking around, waiting for Playmaker to show, " _I was expecting him to show up by now..._ " he thought, he looked around more, " _Same with Codebuster, I thought he would also stop me..._ " he added. A few minutes of this, " _Maybe if I caused some mayhem, that would bring Playmaker out._ " he began to charge a red ball of data in his hand.

"Last chance Playmaker, if you don't come out, I'll destroy part of the server!" he declared holding the ball over his head. "3...!" he shouted, making the avatars on the streets run away from his area. "2...!" he tightened his grip on the ball, getting ready to throw it. "1-" ***Whistle!*** Someone whistled behind him, making him halt the charging attack.

"Finally..." he turned around, "You've come to face me-" he said but stopped at the sight before him.

Floating down from a D-Board, which was dark green, was a beautiful woman, she had red eyes, her hair was dark green and long, which past her shoulders, it also curled at the tips, the tips kind of looked like snake heads. adorning her head was a golden crown, intertwined into it were two small golden snakes with blue gems for eyes. For clothing she wore a high top sleeveless black top, revealing her flawless belly button, as well as dark jeans and brown combat boots. All over her right arm was a snake tattoo that curled around the entire limb, there was also a gold snake theme bracelet. On her other arm was her Duel Disk, which was like Hanoi's Duel Disk, but the gem was a snake's eye, and the band was comprised of two snakes.

" _She's beautiful..._ " he thought in awe as she descended to his level.

"Hey there big boy." she said playfully getting close to him, making him sweat, "Mind telling me what you're doing?" she purred out, "Oh... Just waiting for Playmaker to show up, and probably beat me..." he mumbled out loud, not caring what he said, all he cared was gazing at this beautiful creature before him.

"Playmaker, Oh what a guy." she said smiling at him, "But he's such a stick in the mud." she added, "Maybe he's actually got a stick up his butt!" she joked...

* * *

"Ha! she's right, Playmaker is like that!" Naoki laughed out, some of the others were laughing at her joke, Yusaku however was not laughing. " _Who is she? What is she doing?_ " he thought narrowing his eyes. "Who's Playmaker?" Kasumi asked, shocking them all, "You don't know who he is?!" Naoki nearly screamed, "Well I have been away for so long, I haven't heard of the guy." she said. Her reasoning made sense to most but Naoki.

"Playmaker is Link VRAINS's hero. Taking on the Knights of Hanoi." AnDru explained, "Oh I've heard on them." she said, "I even watched that guy, Codebuster duel that Lancelot guy." she added. "Well Codebuster is Link VRAINS's other hero." he explained, "Both he and Playmaker have been fending Hanoi off." she nodded at this, "Still, where are they? That woman may need their help." he said watching, waiting for something to happen.

Across the room, clenching his notepad tightly was Katsuo, glaring at the screen at the woman, clearly flirting with the knight, " _Who the fuck is that bimbo!?_ " he thought angered, she was ruining his plan.

* * *

"So mind telling me your name big boy?" she asked circling him on her D-Board, "Or should I just stick with Big Boy?" she said, getting close to his ear. "Big boy is fine." he moaned out. "Can I ask you your name?" he asked, "They call me Medusa." she winked out, "Medusa, such a lovely name for a beautiful woman." he mumbled, making her giggle.

"Oh stop you." she playfully pushed against him.

"Say, seeing that your waiting for Playmaker, do you want to play with me?" she asked... As she pushed her body onto him. "S-S-Sure, how about a Duel?" he stuttered out, profusely sweating now.

"Great! Let's make it a Speed Duel!" she said, he nodded and the two soared down onto a Data Storm stream, and began to surf on it.

* * *

"What is this ladies and gentlemen?! It appears a beautiful woman, going by the name Medusa is going to challenge the knight! How will this play out!" the MC yelled from the plaza, where a crowd was gathering. Resting on her motorcycle was a gorgeous woman with long hair in a pony tail that was purple, a darker purple, and some grey. She was also wearing a tight biker suit.

"Oh, this should be interesting." she said smiling...

* * *

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted out, drawing 4 cards each.

Medusa's LP: **4000**

Knight of Hanoi (Big Boy)'s LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Mind if I go first, Big Boy?" Medusa asked with a wink, making him blush, "Sure..." he sighed blissfully, "Thanks, my turn!" she waved her hand, to reveal her cards.

"I Summon Reptilianne Gorgon!" she taped the card, making a half serpent, human hybrid on the Field appeared, her snake tail was blue, her human like skin was green but she was a tad skinny, her eyes were yellow and snake like. She also had long hair that looked like a bunch of snake, attached to her forehead was a two headed snake head. and she wore and pink and purple dress over her human half, along with long sleeve gloves. She was summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone on her side of the Field.

 **Reptilianne Gorgon: DARK, Level: 3 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 1400

"Then I set two cards and end my turn!" she taped two other cards in her Hand, making them appear on the Field bigger and then fade away. "You're up Big Boy!" she looked back and winked at him.

Medusa's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I draw!" Big Boy drew his card and waved his Hand to see his other cards, " _While this may not be my original mission, I'm not going to give this chance up_ " he thought looking up at Medusa, who playfully waved at him. "I activate the Spell, Card Destruction!" he said tapping the card.

"We both send our entire Hands to the Graveyard, and draw cards up to number of sent cards!" he said, he sent his entire Hand to the Graveyard, Medusa did the same with her single card. She drew a card, while he drew 4.

"Then I activate the effect of the 3 Dark World monsters discarded from my Hand!" he shouted.

"Dark Worlds, that's a dangerous Deck to go against." Matoyia muttered.

"First my two Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark Worlds! When discarded from my Hand, it Special Summons itself!" he said, appearing from a dark portal were two skeletal monsters, covered with dark blue muscles, and carrying bony spears. They were summoned to his Left and Right Main Monster Zones.

 **Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World: DARK, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1300 **x2**

"Then Broww, Huntsman of Dark World! I draw a card!" he drew a card. "And then Normal Summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World!" appearing in his Middle Main Monster Zone was pale blue fiend, covered in some slime, dress in a cloak with chains wrapped around its arms.

 **Brron, Mad King of Dark World: DARK, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 400

"I set two cards." two cards appeared on his Field and faded. "Battle! Brron attack Gorgon!" Brron gather dark energy in his wrapped arms, and then tossed it at Gorgon, who was then destroyed. Medusa's LP: **4000 - 400 = 3600**.

"Trap activate, Snake's Vice!" Medusa yelled out, a card flipped up, revealing a image of a human being coiled by a snake, which was posed to strike at the human. " _When you take battle damage involving a Reptilianne monster, that monster is Special Summon back from your Graveyard if destroyed._ " Medusa's female AI said as Gorgon appeared in the Middle Monster Zone in Defense.

"However, it's ATK becomes 0" Medusa said, Gorgon's ATK: **1400 = 0** , " _Not only that, as the ATK of the monster that battled that Reptilianne monster also becomes 0_!" her AI said. Brron's ATK: **1800 = 0**. "Then I activate the effect of Reptilianne Cobra from my Hand!" she said tapping the card in her Hand.

Appearing on her Field was a new monster, she like Gorgon was half snake, half human, her tail was brown, her human skin a pale brown, her eyes yellow, she looked rather beautiful unlike Gorgon, around her head was a snake hood with a alluring pattern on it, she wore simple dancer clothing which was blue.

 **Reptilianne Cobra: DARK, Level: 4 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/** 100 **DEF/1800**

"Cobra can be Special Summoned when there is a face-up monster with 0 ATK." she said.

"Clever, but I activate Mad King's effect!" Brron glowed, "When it inflicts battle damage to you, I can discard a card!" he discarded a card. "Gren, Tactician of Dark World's effect activates!" he declared, "When sent to the Graveyard from my Hand, I target a Spell or Trap card on the Field and destroy it!" he said smiling, "I destroy your other face-down!" her other face-down was destroyed.

"Battle! My first Beiige will attack Gorgon!" the first Beiige charged at Gorgon with its spear a front, stabbing the monster, but she didn't burst into data. "Huh?" he got out confused, "Don't feel too bad, Cobra's effect makes it so that monsters with 0 ATK can't be destroyed by battle." she explained.

"Then I end my turn! Show me what you got pretty lady!" he said grinning, making her giggle at his compliment.

Knight's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I draw!" she drew her card. "And now Snake's Vice effect activate!" she said shocking him, " _During each standby phase after it was activated, any player controlling a monster affected by its effect takes 300 damage!_ " her AI said, making her flinch slightly, same with the knight, **3600 - 300 = 3300** (Medusa), Big Boy's LP: **4000 - 300 = 3700**.

"I activate the Spell, Reptilianne's Flute!" she said activating her only card. it's image showed a Reptilianne monster in a basket dancing to the music of a snake flute. "I can send 1 monster on the Field to the Graveyard! I choose Gorgon!" Gorgon burst into data.

"Smart move, doing that means Snake's Vice effect won't affect her anymore." AnDru said watching, his sister agreeing with him.

"Doing this allows me to add a Reptilianne monster from my Deck to my Hand!" she added her card after selecting it on the screen that appeared, the image feed coming the eyes of the two snakes on her Disk.

"Then I Summon Reptilianne Adder!" Appearing on her Field in the Right Main Monster was a small snake like monster, it hand two small stubby arms, it hissed revealing it venomous fangs.

 **Reptilianne Adder: DARK, Level: 3 [Reptile/Tuner/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 800

"2 monsters... Must mean you're going for a Link Summon, hmm?" Big Boy deduced. "Ha! Don't take this the wrong way, but I try and separate myself from that trend." she said.

"And I'll show you what I mean!" she snapped her fingers, making her monsters glowed, they then turned into data, which then turned into 2 pairs of rings, one was green with 3 rings within another, the other was pink and comprised of 4 rings. "Level 3 Adder tunes Level 4 Cobra!" she said as the rings joined together and became blue.

 **4* + 3* = 7***

"Tune!?" Big Boy shouted in shock, A dotted green rings circled the blue ring, which then seperated into 7 identical blue ones. " _Beautiful serpent, slither elegantly across the land and grace us with your presence!_ " Medusa chanted as a pink light erupted on one side of the rings.

"Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Reptilianne Basilisk!" she yelled out as the monster began to render in.

When it was finished a new beautiful snake woman has appeared, her tail and snake skin was black and spiky, her human skin was pale grey, her hair was green and wavy, her eyes yellow and slitted like a snake. She had three pair of arms, 3 on either side of her body. She also wore red and gold belly dancer clothing, but around the hips was a dress like skirt. She wore several bangles on her many arms. She was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Medusa's Right.

 **Reptilianne Basilisk: DARK, Level: 7 [Reptile/Synchro/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 1900

" _So she's not a Link Summoner..._ " Matoyia thought, just judging by her words.

"Basilisk's effect! When Special Summoned, I draw a card!" Medusa did just that, "It that card is Reptilianne monster, which it is." she revealed the card, "I can draw 1 more card!" she drew another card.

"And now for Cobra's effect!" Medusa said, "Since it was used as Synchro Material, I can draw a card for every monster you control with 0 ATK." she drew another card.

"And now Basilisk's effect activates!" she said as Basilisk's eyes glowed, "Once per turn, I can target 1 monster you control, and make its ATK become 0 for the rest of the turn!" she said. "However the target cannot be destroyed by battle for the rest of the turn." she added.

"I pick your second Beiige!" the Beiige in the Left Main Monster Zone looked right at Basilisk's eyes and was shocked, it then gained a dark aura as it looked down at the floor, Beiige No. 2's ATK: **1600 = 0**. "Then Basilisk's other effect activates!" she said as Basilisk glowed, "When a monster's ATK become 0, the controller of that monster take 300 damage!" she said, Big Boy glowed yellow briefly. **3700 - 300 = 3400** (Big Boy)

"I set two cards." two cards appeared face-down, then faded. "Battle! Basilisk attack that weakened Beiige!" Basilisk opened her jaw and coughed up purple poisonous smoke, it touched Beiige, who braced itself, surviving due to Basilisk's effect, but Big Boy still took damage. **3400 - 1200 = 1200** (Big Boy)

"Wait!? Why was the damage 1200? Big Boy asked, "Oh that's part of Basilisk's effect, any battle damage to you involving the affected monster is halved." she explained. "I end my turn." she smiled. "With it ending, your Beiige's ATK returns to normal. **0 = 1600** (Beiige No. 2)

Medusa's Hand x 1

 **Turn 4**

"My turn! I draw!" Big Boy drew his card. "Snake's Vice's effect!" Medusa shouted, **2200 - 300 = 1900** (Big Boy) "I tribute Brron to Tribute Summon Latinum, Exarch of Dark World!" Brron burst into particle, and forming from them was a new monster, this one was muscular, armoured and had bony wings. It was Summoned to the Middle Monster Zone that Brron was in before.

 **Latinum, Exarch of Dark World: DARK, Level: 6 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/1500 DEF/** 2400

"Appear! My darkening Circuit!" he yelled, making the Link Portal appeared, "The Summoning Conditions are two Fiends, including a Dark World monster!" he said, I set Latinum and Beiige number 2 into the Link Markers!" Latinum and the Beiige in the Right Main Monster Zone turned into twisters, and hit the Bottom Left and Right Link Markers, turning them red.

"Link Summon! Link 2! Chromm, General of Dark World!" appearing from the portal was a new Dark World monster, it's exposed bone were completely made out of a chrome metal, attached into its exposed muscles were wires. Carried in its hands was a giant jagged battle axe. It was Summoned to Extra Monster Zone to Big Boy's right, opposite of Basilisk.

 **Chromm, General of Dark World: DARK [Fiend/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Chromm's effect! When Link Summoned, I discard a card from my Hand!" he did so, "Doing this allows me to send a Dark World monster from my Deck to the Graveyard!" he said, he selected his choice, making that card go to the Graveyard. "Then Chromm's other effect! When a card is discarded from my Hand, 1 Fiend-Type monster I control gains 600 ATK!" Chromm gained the ATK Boost. Chromm's ATK: **1800 + 600 = 2400**.

"And then the sent Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World's effect activates from the Graveyard!" info on that appeared on Medusa's Duel Disk. "When this card is in the Graveyard, I can return a Dark World monster I control to my Hand." he picked his remaining Beiige returned to his Hand. "Grapha then Special Summons itself! Rise! Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!"

Appearing from a huge dark portal was a demonic dragon, it was completely black in colour, all over its body were wriggling tentacles, it was summoned to Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World: DARK, Level: 8 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/2700 DEF/** 1800

"And now the discarded Broww, Huntsman of Dark World's effect activates!" he said, then drew a card due to its effect. "And then if it was discarded due to an effect you activated, I can draw another card!" he did just that. "But I didn't activate an effect other than Snake's Vice." Medusa said confused.

"Chromm's effect treats any card discarded from my Hand as being discarded from an effect you activate!" Big Boy explained. "Continious Trap activate, Call of the Archfiend!" one of his face-downs flipped up.

"Once per turn, by discarding a Fiend-Type monster from my Hand..." he sent Beiige to the Graveyard, "I can Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Feind-Type from my Graveyard!" he said, "I Summon back Latinum! Latinum appeared back on his Field in the Right Main Monster Zone. "And then Beiige's effect! It Special Summons itself!" Beiige also appeared back on the Field again in the Left Main Monster Zone.

"Ah! That knight's entire Field is full! I don't think even Playmaker would survive against that!" Naoki screamed as he watched, Yusaku, who had ignored that remark, focused on Medusa through the screen, she seemed to be calm.

"I activate my Set Spell, Dark World Lightning!" Big Boy's remaining face-down flipped up. "I destroy 1 Set card on the Field! I pick your one in the Right Spell and Trap Zone!" he declared, causing the chosen card to be destroyed. "I then discard a card." he did just that.

"Nothing triggered so it wasn't a Dark World monster..." Medusa muttered, "Battle! Grapha attacks Basilisk!" Grapha inhaled some air, causing black flames to generate, it then breathed them out at Basilisk, who scream as she was burned to cinders. **3300 - 300 = 3000** (Medusa)

"Continious Trap Activate, Damage = Reptile!" Medusa's remaining face-down flipped up. "Once per turn, when I take battle damage involving a Reptile-Type monster, I can Special Summon 1 Reptile-Type monster from my Deck whose ATK is equal or less than the damage that I took!" a card was ejected from her Deck, which she took held forward.

"I Summon Reptilianne Boa!" the card vanished, making the monster appear on the Field, it was a small snake girl, her tail was light brown, with dark brown spots on its, she also wore a black cloak that covered her body. She was Summoned to Medusa's Middle Main Monster Zone in Defense.

 **Reptilianne Boa: DARK, Level: 2 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/** **900**

"When Boa is Special Summoned, 1 of your monster's ATK becomes 0 until the end of the turn!" she picked Chromm. **2400 = 0** (Chromm) "That won't stop me! Beiige attack that Boa!" Beiige then charged at Boa, stabbing her with its spear, destroying her. "And now Latinum will attack you directly!" Latinum then flew over to her, and slashed at her, forcing her forward and nearly of her D-Board. **3000 - 2200 = 800**. (Medusa)

"I end my turn." he said grinning, "With it ending Chromm's ATK returns to normal..." **0 = 1800** (Chromm)

Big Boy's Hand x 3

 **Turn 5**

"This is bad, she has nothing to use, other than that card in her Hand." Ayano said concerned as they watched her, Medusa's eyes were shadowed by her hair. "She's got her draw, but I don't think it will help her." AnDru said.

Big Boy then made his way over to the still Medusa, "Hey, don't worry about it, these things happen." he said to her, but she didn't respond. "How about I let this go, and we can go somewhere private..." he went to reach out to touch her shoulder. "Don't touch me you scum!" she suddenly shouted as she swatted him away.

"Huh?" he said confused, she looked up at him, and she looked angry, "I'm tired of Hanoi causing all this mayhem!" she said looking around, clearly talking to the people watching her.

"Playmaker and Codebuster seem to be the only people capable of taking on Hanoi, they don't fear them, like most of us do nowadays…" she continued. "But that changes now!" she turned to Big Boy, "I'm not afraid now, seeing that I can hold my own against a knight..." she then held a fist into the air. "So I declare that I Medusa, shall also fight Hanoi!" she yelled determined, shocking all watching her.

"Are you mad!? What makes you think you can take us on, have you forgotten that you are at a disadvantage here?" Big Boy reminded, "Actually, I'm where I need to be..." she said, confusing him.

"My turn! I draw!" she drew her card. "I activate the Spell, Reptilianne Spawn!" she said, "I remove 1 Reptilianne monster from my Graveyard and Special Summon 2 Reptilianne Tokens!" she explained, "I remove Gorgon." Gorgon was then removed, causing two small lizards to appear in Medusa's Right and Left Monster Zones.

 **Reptilianne Token: EARTH, Level: 1 [Reptile/Token] ATK/** 0 **DEF/0 x2**

"Then I Summon a second Gorgon." a second Gorgon appeared on the Field in her Middle Main Monster Zone. "I then activate Basilisk's effect from the Graveyard!" she said shocking him. "I tribute 2 Reptile monsters in my Hand and or Field and Special Summon her!" she said. "I tribute my two Tokens!" the two tokens burst into particles, making Basilisk appear from a dark portal into her Right Main Monster Zone in Attack.

"When Special Summoned, I draw a card, and if its a Reptilianne monster, I can reveal it to draw another!" she said as a she drew her card, but didn't draw a second one.

"And now I activate my Skill, Gorgon's Glare!" her eyes suddenly glowed. "Your skill!?" Big Boy yelled afraid, not thinking she would make this big a comeback so soon.

"I tribute 1 Reptile-Type monster on my Field..." Gorgon was tributed, "And until the end of the turn, the ATK all the monsters, but 1 that I choose become 0, and battle damage to any of us is halved!" she explained.

"I pick Basilisk to be unaffected. As Basilisk was Medusa's only monster, only Big Boy's monsters were affected, turning to stone by Medusa's eyes. Grapha's ATK: **2700 = 0** , Latinum's ATK: **1500 = 0** , **1800 = 0** (Chromm), **1600 = 0** (Beiige)

"And now Basilisk's effect activates! When a monster's ATK become 0, you take 300 damage!" she said smirking, "Oh, its only 300 damage. I'll survive, then take you out next turn for now defying Hanoi!" he said grinning.

"Funny thing I forgot to mention..." Medusa began, confusing him. "If one or more monster's ATK becomes 0, the controller of the monsters take 300 damage per monster!" she said, shocking him. "T-That means... since all 4 of my monster were affected..." he began, "That's right! You take 1200 damage!" she shouted as he flinched in pain. **1900 - 1200 = 700** (Big Boy)

"Battle Basilisk will now attack Grapha!" once more Basilisk breathed out a gas that hit the Dragon Lord, destroying it. **700 - 1200 = 0** (Big Boy)

"Ahhhhhhh!" Big Boy screamed as he fell, then suddenly vanished, returning to Hanoi.

Medusa: **WINS**

Big Boy (Knight): **LOSES**

"She's done it! Medusa has defeated the knight! She's our new saviour!" MC yelled, causing the crowd to cheer as they watched Medusa come to a stop on her D-Board. "You heard that Hanoi! I'm not afraid of you!" she yelled again, she then turned to the camera floating around her, "And nether should you." she said to the crowd.

"If enough of us work together, Hanoi can be pushed back for good, I, Codebuster and Playmaker will need your help against them, so who's with me!?" she said, making the crowd cheer again...

* * *

"Wow... She was amazing..." Ayano said the group, the entire cafeteria had returned to normal now that the issue was over with, some were talking about it, "Sure was, I honestly thought she was a goner for a moment." AnDra said, "What did you think of it Yusaku?" Kasumi asked, "She did very good, but if that knight had destroyed different cards, then it would've played out differently." he said honestly.

" _So someone else is now taking on Hanoi, why though?_ " he thought, " _She must be related to Hanoi in some way, Codebuster supports a victim which is Aito, I'm seeking vengeance against them, but how is she related?_ " he asked himself.

"Something wrong Yusaku?" Kasumi asked concerned, seeing that she saw him stare off into space. "Nothing..." he muttered, leaving her confused.

With Katsuo, he was furious, " _Damn it! Not only did that bitch ruining my plan in Link VRAINS, no one got up to leave, meaning Playmaker is someone not in this room._ " he thought annoyed.

" _Now I need to hack into the school's security mainframe, and find out who wasn't in the cafeteria today_ "

* * *

 **(13: 31 PM)**

" ***Sigh*** Thank god..." Akane sighed out massaging her head, "That was tiresome, how do Playmaker and Codebuster do it?" she questioned, "Still, I actually did it, I took out that knight, meaning I can hold my own against them." she smiled, "And at least I'm protected, thank god for reading those computer software books" before when she was redesigning her avatar's look, she made sure that she was protected, making sure that Hanoi couldn't hack into her Cloud and find out her real life info.

"And I hope that I've inspired others to help, we may need as much as we can get..." she said, she then lefted her room, and resumed her break. "Aww, my lunch is cold." she groaned...

* * *

 **(13:45 PM)**

"I'm sorry my lord..." the knight who had been called Big Boy bowed before Revolver, Spectre by his side, "That won't make up for your lose, you are now banished from this server, don't consider yourself part of Hanoi anymore!" Revolver said, making Big Boy glow green, fading away, having been forced out of the server.

"Such a shame, had he Dueled Playmaker, he may of actually come close to beating him with that last move of his." Spectre said, "Maybe, but if Playmaker can defeat me, even with luck, that knight would have fallen too." he said.

"Now onto a new problem that has risen, this Medusa, have you found anything on her?" he asked, "Sadly no, she seems to have prepared for this, we cannot find anything linking her to her real life, so she could be anyone." Spectre said.

"But she's most likely someone related to Hanoi to some degree." Revolver deduced, "Maybe she's a victim like Playmaker, or she could be the victim under Codebuster's care?" he continued, "All we know is that she will get in our way, meaning she's a threat to our goals." he said, "That soon won't be an issue." Dr Kogami appeared before them.

"How's your plan coming along?" Revolver asked, not really caring, as said plan would mean he would lose his chance too- "Coming along nicely, it won't be long until I can commence it." he said, but then noticed Revolver frowning slightly. "Something wrong with that?" he asked, "If the tower is activated, that will mean my chance at finding out who Playmaker is." Revolver said.

"That won't matter in the end, Playmaker will be no more, along with Codebuster and anyone who now get's in our way, will soon be gone." he said. "Very well, father." Revolver said, Kogami soon lefted, followed by Spectre who had something to do.

"Playmaker... Which one of them are you? he muttered...

* * *

 **(14:00 PM)**

"Well that couldn't have gone better." Matoyia said to Asuka, both of them were out back discussing what happened, "I know right, but at least your work load in taking out Hanoi will be lifted slightly." she said, "True, but how long will she last? If she's not careful, Hanoi may come for her in real life." he said, "Then again, maybe she thought of this before taking them on, maybe she'll be fine..." he said, making her then giggle.

"What are you giggling for?" he asked suspicious, the only time she giggled like that was when- suddenly his eyes widened in shock, "Oh no! Don't you dare!" he said, getting what she was thinking.

"Aww, but I think its sweet that you're concerned for her." she said sweetly, "Makes sense, seeing that you couldn't take your eyes of her, especially around this part." she gestured to her chest, making him blush like mad.

"I-I-I-I-I..." he stuttered out in shock, making her smile more, "Go on..." she said, "..." he just glared at her, "Shut up..." he mumbled, leaving to go to the counter, leaving her to laugh her head off...

* * *

 **(16:04 PM)**

"Are you okay, Yusaku...?" Aito asked, both he and Yusaku were walking away from school, seeing that the school day was finished with, as they walked they could still hear people talking about Medusa.

"Yeah, just thinking." he said, Aito nodded and lefted him to it, " _Medusa, why are you getting involved with Hanoi, it's not your place to do so._ " he thought, after lunch he returned to class and just thought of reasons for Medusa being involved, " _Could she be a victim like me and Aito? If so, are the others 3 like her?_ " he continued.

He had never really thought on the other victims, as they didn't really matter to him a bit, that had slightly changed when he meet-" Yusaku-kun!" a voice shouted for him, snapping him out of his thoughts, he turned and saw Kasumi running up to them.

"Hi Kasumi..." Aito said being friendly, "Hello Aito, Yusaku, Can I walk with you?" she asked, "Sure." Yusaku said, and then carried on walking, now with Kasumi in tow.

As they walked, Yusaku looked at Kasumi briefly, she caught him staring during that time, and smiled, " _Just how does she know me?_ " he thought, this was another thought he had been thinking of all days./

Aito seeing Yusaku's face, "Say Kasumi..." he began, "Yes Aito?" she said, "Just how do you know Yusaku?" he asked, making Yusaku slightly thankful for him asking, "He'll have to tell you." she said, "Or... Do you seriously not know Yusaku?" she said coming to a stop, making them stop too.

"No, I honestly don't know you, or I can't remember you, so could you elaborate on how you know me?" he said.

"Well, seeing that you couldn't figure it out, I tell you." she said then smiled, "I'm Kasumi Kazusaki, Yusaku's childhood friend." she said smiling, shocking Yusaku with this...

* * *

 **(11 years ago)**

"Come on Yusaku! We've only got today lefted to play!" a 5 year old Kasumi, wearing a small pink dress said, holding a 5 year old Yusaku's hand, "Hold up Kasumi, you don't need to drag me, I can run myself!" Yusaku said.

"I know, I just want to spend as much time with you before I go..." she said, becoming sad at the thought of moving away from her best friend. Yusaku seeing this then grabbed her hand, making her look up to see Yusaku smiling at her, "Well come on then! We can't have fun if you sad, we need to be happy to make this the funniest day ever!" he said.

This caused her smile, and make her laugh lightly, "Alright, let's go!" she said, the two then ran off, heading to the playground...

* * *

"Even though you were an orphan, you were still my first friend that I ever made back then..." she said smiling, thinking back to that day. "You were kind, energetic, funny, adventurous, smart..." she trailed off, looking up at him as she smiled, "And also a goof!" she said,

"Really? Yusaku a goof?" Aito said looking at his friend. "Yeah, but now... Well..." she began, "You're not that sweet little boy now, I can tell something has happened during these last 11 years..." she said, making Yusaku flinch.

"So what happened?" she asked, at first Yusaku didn't respond making her nervous.

"I grew up..." he said slowly, he then turned around and just walked off, "See ya Aito..." he said walking off, leaving the two alone.

"See ya..." Aito muttered back, then turned to Kasumi and see her upset, "See you later, Kasumi..." he then also walked off, leaving her to herself.

" _What happened, Yusaku?_ " she thought, picturing a 5 year old Yusaku slowly being replaced with the present one...

* * *

 **Yusaku's home, (16:41 PM)**

"Are you okay, master?" Roboppi asked as Yusaku walked solemnly into the building, more solemnly than usual. "I'm fine." he said walking into his room, "Ah finally!" Ai shouted from his glass cabinet.

"What's with you?" Yusaku asked, "I was bored! You locked me in this cabinet all day!" Ai shouted, lying of course, as Roboppi had gotten him out earlier for modifications to the-" Hey! Are you okay?" it asked as Yusaku took him out of the cabinet and set him on his bed. "Yeah..." he said.

"You lie! You can't fool me." it said, Yusaku didn't respond, "If you don't say, I'll just annoy it out of you!" it then began to get ready to be annoying.

"I met someone..." he said, shocking the Ignis, "Eh!? You?! And someone!? How is that possible!?" it screamed, "Not like that, this was someone from my past, apparently." he remarked.

"Oh, what are they like?" it asked, "Nothing like me." he said, "She said that back then, I was kind, energetic, funny, adventurous, smart." he said, "Hey, just like me!" Ai cheered out.

Yusaku was about to ask what he meant, but then his phone rang, he answered it, "Hello?" he said, "Yusaku, are you coming over?" Shoichi asked, "Yeah, I'll be there soon." he said, and then ended the call.

He then got up and picked up his Duel Disk, "Let's go." he said walking out of his room...

* * *

 **Kasumi's Apartment, (17:12 PM)**

When Kasumi got home, she went straight to her bed and lied down on it, staring at the ceiling, contemplating Yusaku's last words to her, " _I grew up_ " went through her head.

" _No you didn't, something happened to make you like this now, something bad..._ " she thought.

"Arghh!" she suddenly sat up, "Now that ruined my day, this wasn't what I expected today to pan out like!" she heard pictured after confessing who she was to Yusaku, he would've hugged and welcomed her back, not suddenly give her the cold shoulder.

"I need to blow off some steam." she then reached into her newly set up bed counter, opened her draw and brought out her Duel Disk. Unlike the Duel Disk from Den City, hers was from where the she lived before coming back to the city. Created by a company called VGR (short for Virtual Gaming Reality), as Link VRAINS's influence began to spread across the world slowly, many of these companies soon rose, creating to own versions of a Duel Disk that could link into Link VRAINS's many servers.

Her Duel Disk was rather slimmer compared to the newest version in Den City, and more compacted, it's display screen was rather small, but it made up for this by having a holographic display from a small purple gem, this was framed by a silver casing, around this at the front that faced her wrist was curved with small divits in it. At the back was a long rectangular bar, a thin circuit line in the middle. Some of the casing was white, the rest purple, the rounded part at the front coned at the back of it. This Duel Disk was VGR - Hunter.

"Now I've had you installing the software for me to enter this Link VRAINS's server, let's see if this works!" she slipped it on, clicking the brace on. "Into the VRAINS!" she yelled as she was surrounded by data...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS...**

"Ah its great to be back in here." A high tech armoured samurai said as he walked around, missing all the things he couldn't experience since Hanoi's attack, his name was Shogun, who was actually Hiroshi. One could tell by the vintage Duel Disk on his right arm.

"Now maybe I can find someone who wants to Duel me." he looked over at the crowd that had gathered. "Hi, could you help me with something?" a voice, a female asked, touching him on the shoulder.

"Sure, I can-" he turned around to look at her, and froze up.

Standing before him was a young girl of 16 with snow white wavy hair, that seemed to sparkle like the stars, her eyes, which were a dark green, didn't have any white in them, making them look fairy like, they took seemed the sparkle. Her skin was pale and flawless, her clothing was a grey and black bodysuit like Playmakers, but the sleeves were separate from the body. Across this bodysuit were two red stripes connected from her legs to her chest... Which was huge as her... Assets were DDD sized, the back of her suit exposed the small of her back. Around her arms, where the long gloves were separate from her body were grey bands, going from there to her hands were similar red stripes, and around her hips was a belt with NS on it in silver. On her right wrist was a strange kind of Duel Disk

"Err, hello?" she said waving at him, "Oh.. Sorry about that, I kind of stared off..." Shogun said... After staring at her chest. "What did you need again?" he asked, "I'm new to this server, so I'm trying to find the area designated for Dueling, do you know where that is?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, well, seeing that your new to this Server, you can actually Duel anywhere." he answered, "Oh, that would explained why that Medusa chick was flying about and Dueling..." she said, thinking back to that Duel recently.

"That's called a Speed Duel. So I take it your looking for a Duel?" Shogun asked, she nodded, "Yep! Say... Would you like to Duel?" she asked getting close to his concealed face, making him blush underneath his mask. "Sure, but could you first tell me your Avatar name? Mine's Shogun." he asked.

"And you can call me..." she then struck a pose. "NovaStar!" she cheered out.

"Alright NovaStar, let's go over there and Duel." he pointed into the crowd, she nodded and they walked over there...

Shogun told the crowd that they were going to Duel, so they made space for them, the two then faced off against each other, getting the Duel Disk ready, one with actually cards in it, this was Shogun's, and NovaStar's materialised a small box at the front, it opened to show a Deck of cards.

"DUEL!" the two shouted drawing 5 cards each...

Shogun's LP: **4000**

NovaStar's LP: **4000**

* * *

 **Den City's Square Plaza**

"Really, this girl is supposedly your childhood friend from before the incident?" Shoichi asked as he and Yusaku were seated in the back on Shoichi's truck, this topic wouldn't have been brought up, but Ai wanted Yusaku to open up about it, so it blabbed, "Apparently, she told me what I was like back then, I wish I knew if that was true though..." Yusaku said typing away.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been rude to her back there, you may have hurt her by rejecting her. You need to apologise." Shoichi said, "I will, but I don't have time for being her friend again, if what she says is true." he said, making Shoichi roll his eyes.

"Hey!" Ai suddenly yelled out, making them stop, "A Duel is about to take place!" it said, "Is Hanoi involved?" Yusaku asked, "Nope, but check out the beauty!" Ai then brought up video feed of a Duel about to take place.

"Seeing that we can't get anywhere today, let's watch a nice Duel" Shoichi suggested, Yusaku said nothing but watched, "Whose's Dueling?" he asked.

"Some dude called Shogun." Ai brought up Shogun's data, along with his actual name, "Hiroshi Akiyama, average Duelist" it then brought up the girls info, not much was on it.

"All I can get is that her name is NovaStar, there's nothing else I can, except she uses a strange kind of Duel Disk." Ai showed a close up image of the Duel Disk in question.

"Oh that's a VGR - Hunter, apparently it's a popular model in Tokyo, home to the VGR company behind that Duel Disk" Shoichi said, shocking Yusaku at Tokyo, "What sets it apart from SOL's newest version, is that all data about a user is stored in the device, as opposed to a person's Cloud." he added. "So this means she was on another server from a different city then?" Ai asked, it then looked at Yusaku, who appeared to be shocked.

"Hey Yusaku-sama, what's wrong?" it asked.

" _My name is Kasumi Kazusaki from Tokyo!_ " went through Yusaku's head, "I know who that is..." he muttered...

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story**

"What you watching Aito?" Matoyia asked, preparing dinner for the three, Asuka was just closing the register downstairs.

"A Duel, some new girl is Dueling..." Aito said, wearing his normal clothes. Matoyia turned the stove to simmer and joined Aito for a moment, watching a white haired girl duel a samurai, "Is that Hiroshi? Wow, Medusa must have made him feel safe enough to enter." Matoyia said, interested now, he then looked over at the girl, and spotted her Duel Disk.

"Hey is that a VGR - Hunter?" he said, having thought of getting one for its stored data function...

* * *

 **Turn 1**

"Can I go first?" Shogun asked, NovaStar nodded.

"First I activate the Continious Spell, Gateway of the Six!" Shogun said, appearing behind was an ancient, but futuristic wooden door, six circles connected to circuit pattern framed the door.

"Then I Summon Secret Six Samurai - Doji!" appearing on the Field was a warrior, garbed in futuristic samurai like armour, it was black with purple circuitry over it, over his right shoulder was the barrier of his gun. He was Summoned to Shogun's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Legendary Six Samurai - Doji: DARK, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 1200

"Gateway of the Six's effect! Each time a Six Samurai monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I place 2 Bushido Counters on this card." 2 of the circles on the door glowed. Gateway of the Six's Counter Count (Bushido): **0 + 2 = 2**.

"I activate Legendary Shadow of the Six Samurai's effect from my Hand!" he revealed the card. "When I Summon a Secret Six Samurai monster, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand!" appeared on the was a cluster and crimson samurai armour, suddenly it began to float, filling in the armour was a purple ghost with light violet flames. It was Summoned to the Shogun's Right Main Monster Zone in Defense.

 **Legendary Shadow of the Six Samurai: DARK, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/** 500 **DEF/2000**

"Then Gateway gets 2 more Counters." **2 + 2 = 4** (Gateway)"And then Doji's effect! When another Six Samurai monster is Summoned, I can send 1 Six Samurai card from my Deck to the Graveyard." he picked his choice.

"Appear! The Legendary Circuit!" the Link Portal appeared before them, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Warrior-Type monsters, including a Six Samurai monster!" he said, "I now set Doji and Legendary Shadow in the Link Markers!" both DARK Six Samurai monsters turned into purple twisters, Doji hitting the Bottom Left, Shadow the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Great General of the Six Samurai!" appearing from the portal was a new warrior, this one was deck out in full high-tech black armour, with pink lines along with some neon green, and wearing an orange cape around his neck, and holding a sheathed katana, he was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Shogun's Right.

 **Great General of the Six Samurai: EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Gateway's effect!" all six of the circle were now glowing. **4 + 2 = 6** (Gateway) "General's effect! It gains 100 ATK for Bushido Counter on the Field!" Great General's ATK: **1000 + 600 = 1600**.

"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn!" 2 face-down cards appeared on the Field and faded away.

Shogun's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I draw!" NovaStar drew her card, "Since I control no monsters, but you do, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand! Appear, Cybermax Dragon!" she tapped the card, causing a cybernetic dragon to appear on the Field, its cyber armour was blue, its underbelly was chrome, it had two wings, the wing membrane were made of energy, its snout was narrow, its eyes were green. It roared as it appeared in NovaStar's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Cybermax Dragon: LIGHT, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 1400

* * *

"That monster is a Cyberse!" Ai screamed in shock, as were most people watching the Duel, as was Matoyia watching from his home. " _Where did she get that from?_ " Yusaku thought...

* * *

"Umm, is something wrong?" NovaStar asked confused as everyone was shocked and stepping away.

"Where did you get that card? And are there more of them?" Shogun asked cautiously.

"Oh this? I got it and the others when the Cyberse-type was released like several years ago, why?" she answered, like that was normal. "Cyberse are kind of rare in this server these days, only Codebuster and Playmaker seem to have any." he answered.

"Around 5 years ago, apparently Cyberse where common, until Hanoi appeared." NovaStar frowned at that, putting 2 and 2 together, "So Hanoi is responsible..." she guessed. "Yes, and since you've just played that card, Hanoi may be watching, meaning they'll come for you soon!" he said.

"Well, I would like to see them try!" she said smirking.

"I now activate the effect of the Cybermax Ninja from my Hand!" she tapped the card. "By returned a Cybermax monster on my Field to my Hand, it can Special Summon itself!" Dragon returned to her Hand, and appearing in Dragon's place was a ninja, dressed in black and grey clothing, around his neck was a scarf, the ends looked like two flat wires, with USB slots on them. On his hip was a small sheathed katana, and donning his arms were neon blue throwing stars. He was Summoned to the Middle Monster Zone that Dragon was in before.

 **Cybermax Ninja: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 600

"Dragon's effect activates!" she said, "When returned to my Hand from the Field, I can target 1 card you control and destroy it!" Cybermax Dragon's form appeared on the Field again and began to charge energy in its mouth.

"I destroy Gateway of the Six!" Dragon released its attack, "Counter Trap, Musakani Magatama activate!" Shogun yelled, his face-down flipped up.

"When you activate a Spell, Trap or monster's effect that will destroy cards while I control a Six Samurai monster, I can negate the activation of that effect, and destroy it!" suddenly the attack bounced off a barrier, and hit the projection of Cybermax Dragon destroying it, and making NovaStar flinch as Dragon's card was destroyed from her Hand.

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Return to Sender!" she said, the card appeared on the Field, showing a giant hand picking up a Dragon-Type monster by the base of its tail.

"I can return 1 monster on either side of the Field to our Hand, and then whoever had that monster returned to their Hand draws a card." she said, "I return Ninja to my Hand." Ninja put his hands together and made a Ninja gesture with them, a puff of smoke erupted, when it was gone, Ninja was gone, she then drew a card.

"Ninja's effect! When returned to my Hand from the Field, I can send it to my Graveyard..." she did so, "This allows me to Special Summon up to 2 Cybermax Ninjas from my Hand or Deck!" she said, "I Summon 2 from my Deck!" 2 Ninjas appeared in her Middle and Right Main Monster Zones in Attack. "If Summoned this way, their effects are negated, and they cannot attack this turn." she explained.

"Like that will stop you, right?" Shogun asked.

"Right! Now appear! The Circuit that shines like a Star!" she yelled as sparkles gather in her hand and shot into the air, causing the Link Portal to appear.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are 2 Cybermax monsters!" she said. "I now set the two Ninjas in the Link Markers!" both Ninjas turned into twisters that hit the Bottom Left and Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Cybermax Glitching Gladiator!" rendering in was a tall monster, it's skin was pale white, with orange stripes tracing over its entire body, covering its body was cyber themed gladiatorial armour, and in its right arm was a giant broadsword, the other a small round shield, it was Summoned in the Extra Monster Zone to NovaStar's right, opposite of Great General.

 **Cybermax Glitching Gladiator: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Then I Summon Cybermax Lancer" appearing on her Field was a knight wearing Cyberse monster, its armour was green with purple stripes of purple neon, attached to its right arm was a jousting lance, it was Summoned to her Middle Main Monster this Glitching Gladiator pointed to.

 **Cybermax Lancer: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 400

"Glitching Gladiator's effect! It gains 300 ATK for every monster it points to!" Glitching Gladiator's ATK: **1900 + 300 = 2200**.

"Battle! Glitching Gladiator attacks Great General!" she ordered, with Glitching Gladiator lifting his sword and charging at Great General. "I activate the effect Shein's Squire from my Hand!" Shogun said, "When a Six Samurai monster battles during either turn, I can send this card to the Graveyard, and that monster cannot be destroyed by battle for the rest of the turn!" he then sent the card to the Graveyard.

As Glitching Gladiator got close to Great General, the Six Samurai unsheathed his weapon and blocked the attack, but a shockwave from the clash hit Shogun. Shogun's LP: **4000 - 600 = 3400**. Seeing that monster survive made NovaStar pout.

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn..." she said as the cards appeared then faded.

NovaStar's Hand x 1

* * *

"Interesting, from what I've seen so far is that these Cybermax monsters have trigger effects when returned to the Hand from the Field..." Shoichi said, Yusaku suddenly stood up. "Um? Something wrong?" he asked, "I'm going in." was all he said, grabbing his Duel Disk, "What!? Why?" Ai said, Yusaku entered the chamber.

"Deck Set!" he reached into his pocket and slammed it into his Duel Disk. "Into the VRAINS!" he yelled...

* * *

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I draw!" Shogun drew his card. "Then I activate Gateway of the Six's effect!" 4 of the glowing circles stopped. **6 - 4 = 2** (Gateway) "By removing Bushido Counters I can activate one of its effects! I removed 4, allowing me to add a Six Samurai monster from my Deck to my Hand." he added his choice. "Then Great General loses 400 ATK since 4 bushido counters lefted the Field. **16** **00 - 400 = 1200**. (Great General)

"Then I activate Grandmaster of the Six Samurai's effect from my Hand!" he tapped one of his cards. "When I control a Six Samurai monster, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand!"

Appearing on his Field was an elderly man, garbed in similar armour as the Six Samurai. He was Summon to the Middle Main Monster Zone on Shogun's Field, linked to Great General.

 **Grandmaster of the Six Samurai: EARTH, Level: 5 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/** 800

"Both Gateway and Great General's effects!" two unlit circles on the door glowed again. **2 + 2 = 4** (Gateway) This caused Great General's ATK to rise. **1200 + 200 = 1400** (Great General "Then General's effect, when a Six Samurai monster is Summoned to a Monster Zone it points to, I can place 1 Bushido counter on it. One of the circles on Great General's armour glowed. Great General's Counter Count (Bushido): **0 + 1 = 1** , "Then its ATK increase!" **1400 + 100 = 1500** (Great General)

"Then I Summon Spirit of the Six Samurai!" another set of samurai armour appeared on the Field, this time it was purple, it then floated as a fiery blue ghost took form within it. It was Summoned to the Far Right Monster Zone on Shogun's Field, linked to Great General.

 **Spirit of the Six Samurai: EARTH, Level: 3 [Warrior/Union] ATK/500 DEF/** 500

"Then Gateway and Great General's effect activate again. **4 + 2 = 6** (Gateway), **1 + 1 = 2** (Great General)

"Then Great General gains more ATK!" **1500 + 300 = 1800** (Great General) "Spirit's effect!" Spirit's ghost began to be absorbed into its armour, which then floated over to Great General. "Once per turn, I can equip it onto a Six Samurai monster." as the armour touched Great General, an eerie blue flash occurred, when it was over, Great General was wearing Spirit's armour.

"The equipped monster gains 500 ATK and DEF, the second doesn't apply for General though. **1800 + 500 = 2300** (Great General)

"Battle! Great General attacks Glitching Gladiator!" Great General unsheathed his sword, and charged. "Trap activate, Cybermax's Safeguard!" NovaStar's face-down flipped up showing an image of an angel like Cybermax monster shining a heavenly light on other ones. "When you declare an attack on a Cybermax, for the rest of the turn this card is activated, all Cybermax destroyed by battle are returned to my Hand!" she explained.

"That won't stop me! Continue the attack General!" Shogun yelled as Great General continued its attack. It then slashed at Glitching Gladiator, slicing it in two. NovaStar's LP: **4000 - 100 = 3900**. "Glitching Gladiator is returned to my Extra Deck..." the two halves of the destroyed monster turned into data, which was then absorbed into her Duel Disk.

"Then its effect activates!" she said, "When returned to my Extra Deck from the Field, I can Special Summon 1 Cybermax monster from my Graveyard! Return Cybermax Dragon!" Cybermax Dragon returned to the Field from a dark portal in Attack.

"Spirit's effect activates! When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, I can draw 1 card." Shogun drew a card. "And now Grandmaster will attack Lancer!" Grandmaster flicked his sheathed sword out with his thumb, doing that somehow destroyed Lancer, who was chopped into pieces instantly. **3900 - 500 = 3400**. (NovaStar)

It too was then returned to NovaStar's Hand. "Hmm? Why didn't its effect activate?" Shogun asked, he assumed it had a returning effect like the others, "Due to Safeguard's effect, I can only activate the effect of 1 returned Cybermax monster after its activation..." she explained, as he then nodded in understanding.

"I set a card..." a card appeared face-down and faded.

Shogun's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"My turn, I-" NovaStar began. Suddenly everyone in the crowd heard something, so they looked up. "It's Playmaker!" a random person cheered as in fact Playmaker was in the air, on his D-Board, when he got close enough, he disembarked from it and landed near the two Duelist.

* * *

In Café Haru, where Asuka had now joined to the two, Matoyia was wide eye, "I'll be right back!" Matoyia said, and quickly rushed up stairs, "Make sure the dinner is cooking!" he yelled down to them.

* * *

"Playmaker, it is an honor to meet you." Shogun said bowing, Hiroshi inside was silently screaming with glee. "What brings you here-" NovaStar began, but as Playmaker stood up... All she could see was his handsome face, muscular body, and those wonderous eyes- "Where did you get that Deck?" Playmaker asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, well, I-I-I got it years ago when that Cyberse Type was released." she said, her cheeks reddening slightly, "I had no idea that Cyberse were rare these days, I'm not in trouble am I?" she asked.

"Not with us, but with Hanoi!" Ai said taking his true form. "They'll track you down and find you!" it yelled, "Aww..." NovaStar gushed seeing the AI, "What a cutie you are!" she said, shocking Ai.

"R-R-Really!? I mean... Of course I'm cute, its nice to know that others know this!" Ai quickly marked, blushing slightly, "That Duel Disk you have, its the VGR - Hunter, right?" Playmaker asked, ignoring Ai. "Yeah, pretty neat huh!" she said, she then walked up to him, swaying her hips, much to his confusion.

"Maybe... After I win this Duel..." she got real close to him, much to his discomfort. "We could go somewhere private." she purred, making Playmaker somewhat confused and uncomfortable.

"What do you say?" she asked sweetly.

"You have to win the Duel first, NovaStar, don't disrespect me, by claiming victory before it has come to you!" Shogun suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, okay..." she then started to walk back to the Duel, but quickly looked back at Playmaker and winked, "Don't you go anywhere." she said smiling.

"Now where was I." she said standing back in her position. "You've yet to draw your card." Shogun said, "Thanks! I draw!" she then drew her card.

"I activate the Trap, Compulsory Evacuation Device!" her remaining face-down flipped up. "I can now return 1 monster on the Field to our Hands. I return Dragon to mine!" Dragon suddenly returned to her Hand.

"Then Dragon's effect! When returned to my Hand, I can destroy 1 card you control!" she pointed at her choice, "I pick Grandmaster!" Dragon's form appeared on the Field once more, and charged a beam at Grandmaster.

"Doji's effect from the Graveyard activates!" Shogun shouted, "When exactly 1 Six Samurai monster and no other would be destroyed by a card effect, it banishes itself instead of that monster's destruction!" he said, his Duel Disk telling him that Doji was now banished. Dragon fired the beam, but it was reflected by a barrier that appeared around Grandmaster.

"Since you control monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon Dragon from my Hand!" she said as Dragon once again appeared on her Field in the Middle Monster Zone. "Then I Summon Cybermax Knight!"

Appear on her Field was a Knight like Cyberse monster, its cyber armour was greenish grey, the body, which would could be seen through the cracks of the armour was dark blue with a neon blue stripe running down it. attached to its gauntlets were two wrist mounted plasma blades. It was Summoned to NovaStar's Far Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Cybermax Knight: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 1000

* * *

Aoi who was watching the Duel, having done her assignment for the day, had been bored, how she got to watching the Duel, a notification about it was sent to her, it never mentioned who was Dueling at the time, all was mentioned was Cyberse, so she thought it was Playmaker.

"Who is that girl? And why does she have Cyberse?" Aoi said to herself. " _And why_ _did she have to make her chest bigger than mine- I mean Blue Angel's?_ " she thought, and then got sad at the thought of never being Blue Angel again, being confined to just Aoi Zaizen.

* * *

"Knight's effect! When Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Cybermax monster from my Hand in Defense! I Summon back Lancer!" Lancer appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

"Appear! The Circuit that shines like a Star!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Condition is one Level 4 or lower Cybermax monster! I set Lancer in the Link Marker!" Lancer turned into a twister, that hit the Middle Bottom marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1, Cybermax Wise Wizard!" Appearing from the portal was a rather small monster, it looked like a mage, but its cloak was dark grey, same with its wizard hat, which was topped with a blue glowing ball. Under its cloak was a blue tunic with light blue circuit stripes for the trimmings, and carried in its right hand was a high tech staff with a gem fitted at the top, the staff was barely taller then the monster. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to NovaStar's Right.

 **Cybermax Wise Wizard: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/600 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"I activate the Wise Wizard's effect!" Wise Wizard tapped his staff into the ground, "Once per turn, when it points to no monster, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Cybermax monster from my Deck in Defense!" she picked her choice.

"I Summon a Lancer!" a second Lancer appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone. "Then I activate it's other effect! Now by returning the monster it points to, to my Hand..." Lancer turned into data and was added to her Hand. "This then lets me draw a card." she drew a card.

"Then Lancer's effect! When returned to my Hand from the Field, I can half the ATK of 1 monster you control for the rest of the turn, but battle damage is halved!" she said, "I pick Grandmaster." Lancer appeared on the Field, and threw its lance at Grandmaster, hitting him in the chest. Grandmaster's ATK: **2100 = 1050**.

"Then Lancer's other effect! While I control 2 or more Cybermax monsters, I can Special Summon it!" Lancer once again appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Wow she's pretty good!" Ai cheered, Playmaker nodded at this, but didn't say a thing.

"Once more! The Circuit that shines like a Star!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Cybermax monsters!" she began, "I now Set Wise Wizard, Knight and Lancer in the Link Markers!" all three Cybermax monsters, turned into twisters, Lancer hit the Middle Top, Knight the Bottom Left, and Wise Wizard the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear Link 3! Cybermax Surging Sheriff!" Once again, appearing from the Portal was a new monster, this one was a sheriff, it wore and black and neon green poncho, with some other neon colours in a pattern. It wore two gauntlets with revolver chamber fused into them, on its hips on either side were two high tech six shooters, it face, which was blank and had only a red visor was hidden by its cowboy hat. It appeared in the Extra Monster Zone that Wise Wizard was in before, linked to Dragon in the Middle Main Monster Zone, it quickly pulled one of its six shooter out, twirled it and shoot into the air.

 **Cybermax Surging Sheriff: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"And now I activate-" she began, but something shining in the distance caught her attention, "Huh?" she said confused, Playmaker seeing this looked to where she was staring, and was meet by a laser zooming right at him. "Playmaker dodge!" NovaStar screamed out, Playmaker jumped to his right and rolled.

"Who shot at us!?" Ai screamed in fear, Playmaker narrowed his eyes, activating a setting that then allowed him to enhance his vision. "Codebuster!" he said, staring at the mentioned bounty hunter, who was holding a sniper rifle in his arms, the barrel smoking.

"Ah! Why is he here!?" Ai screamed, "Oh wait, he's after me..." it suddenly remembered. " _I can't let him get another shot, it may contain that program that locks me into a Duel_ " Playmaker thought, "Why are just standing there!? Log us out-" Ai began but both he and Playmaker were logged out.

* * *

With Codebuster, he was frustrated, having missed his shot. "For F*** sakes! I had the element of surprise, and he still gets away!" he swore out to him. "He's lucky, that Nova chick or whatever she calls herself is the only reason he got away, I didn't think she could seen me..." he said.

"Well don't think this is the end Playmaker, your luck will run out eventually, and then you're mine!" he clenched a fist, and then immediately logged out...

* * *

"What was that!?" NovaStar screamed out confused, "Hmm, I think that was Codebuster, trying to claim the AI Playmaker holds." Shogun said, "What's so special about an AI? I've got one, and its still stupid!" she screamed, now annoyed that Playmaker was gone, but also somewhat relieved that he survived that shot.

"No idea, but onto our Duel, could you proceed?" Shogun asked.

"Oh right, I activate Surging Sheriff's effect!" Sheriff drew one of its six shooters, "Once per turn, I can return 1 monster this card points to our Hand, and apply 1 of two effects!" Dragon was returned to her Hand, its effect didn't trigger as it had already been used.

"Now I pick that when Sheriff battles your monster, that monster loses ATK equal to half the original ATK of the returned monster during that battle!" she explained.

"Battle! Surging Sheriff will attack Great General!" Sheriff twirled its weapon and aimed at Great General, "Sheriff's effect now kicks in!" **2300 - 1050 = 1250** (Great General)

Quick as a flash, Sheriff shot all six bullets in the gun, which all hit their marks, **3400 - 1150 = 2250** (Shogun) Great General glowed, about to break apart, "Spirit's effect activates! Should the equipped monster be destroyed, Spirit is destroyed in its place!" Spirit's armour removed itself from the Link Monster, it then was destroyed, with Great General surviving the attack. "With the battle over, Great General's ATK returns to normal." **1250 = 1800** (Great General)

"I set 2 cards and end my turn..." 2 cards appeared face-down and faded away. "With it ending Lancer's effect ends and returns Grandmaster's ATK to normal." **1050 = 2100** (Grandmaster)

NovaStar's Hand x 1

 **Turn 5**

"My turn! I draw!" Shogun drew his card. "I active the Set Quick-Play Spell, Asceticism of the Six Samurai!" Shogun's face-down flipped up. "I target 1 Six Samurai on my Field and Special Summon 1 Six Samurai from my Deck with the same ATK but a different name!" he added the card to his Hand, "I Summon the Six Samurai - Zanji!

A new Six Samurai appeared, this one was tall and wearing dark brown armour with orange neon circuit stripes on the armour, in his hands was staff with an energy blade at the end. It was Summoned to the Far Right Monster on Shogun's Field, linked to Great General.

 **The Six Samurai - Zanji: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 1300

"Gateway and Great General's effect!" two more spots on the door glowed, **6 + 2 = 8** (Gateway), and another circle on General's armour glowed, **2 + 1 = 3** (Great General) "Then General gains 300 ATK!" **1800 + 300 = 2100**. "Then I activate Gateways effect! I remove 4 counters!" **8 - 4 = 4** (Gateway), **2100 - 400 =** **1700** (Great General) "I now add a Six Samurai to my Hand!" he added his choice.

"I Summon a second Secret Six Samurai - Doji!" A second Doji appeared on the Field in the Right Main Monster Zone. "Gateway's effect!" **4 + 2 = 6** (Gateway), **1700 +200 = 1900** (Great General)

"And now by sending Zanji, Doji and Grandmaster to the Graveyard..." all three monsters started to turn to dust, "I can perform a Fusion Summon! he said.

" _The first of Six, one the secret six, and the grandmaster! Become one and bring about a new secret!_ " the dust began to gather into a twister, "Fusion Summon! Level 5! Secret Six Samurai - Rihan!" the dust gathered and appearing from it as it scattered was a ninja, clad in dark grey, with neon green trimming on part of his clothing, in one of his hand was a small blade, on the other on his wrist was a set of claws, he was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone on Shogun's Field, linked to Great General.

 **Secret Six Samurai - Rihan: LIGHT, Level: 5 [Warrior/Fusion/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 2400

"Once again, Gateway and Great General's effects!" **6 + 2 = 8** (Gateway), **3 + 1 = 4** (Great General), **1900 + 300 = 2200** (Great General)

"Its time to end this! I activate Rihan's effect!" Rihan brought out a throwing star, "Once per turn, I can banish Six Samurai from my Hand or face-up on my Field..." he sent the remaining card to the Banished Zone. "I can then target 1 card on the Field and banish it!" Rihan took aim, "I shall banish Surging Sheriff!" Rihan then threw the star, aiming right at the monster.

"Counter Trap, Cybermax Firewall, activate!" NovaStar yelled as one of her face-downs flipped up. "When a Cybermax monster is targeted for a card effect you activate, I can return that target to my Hand!" Surging Sheriff returned to her Extra Deck. "Then your activated effect is negated and you take 1000 damage!" digitals fire ball shot out of the card, and hit Shogun. **2250 - 1000 = 1250** (Shogun)

"Then Sheriff's effect activates! When returned to my Extra Deck from the Field, all face-up monsters currently on the Field lose their effects for the rest of the turn!" she said shocking him, Sheriff's spectre appeared, and shot both General and Rihan, turning them grey. **2200 = 1000**. (Great General)

"It matters not! I activate Gateway's effect! By removing 2 Counters, I can increase the ATK of a Six Samurai monster or Shein Effect monster by 500!" **8 - 2 = 6** (Gateway), "I choose Rihan!" Rihan's ATK: **2400 + 500 = 2900**.

"Battle! Rihan will attack you directly!" Rihan quickly striked NovaStar across her chest..., Actually cutting the skin suit, and revealing some skin, and making her chest jiggle lightly, giving a few man in the crowd some nosebleeds. **3400 - 2900 = 500** (NovaStar)

"I'm so sorry that happened..." Shogun said, Hiroshi inside was blushing, his thought self even having a nosebleed, NovaStar's suit repaired itself. "But I must end this now! Great General will also attack you directly!" Great General unsheathed his weapon, leapt into the air, the sun above illuminating him as he descended and crashed right into NovaStar, causing dust to explode upwards.

"Sorry that it came to this..." Shogun said and then bowed. "Hmm?" he stood up again. "Why didn't it give me the win?" he asked, he then looked to the dust cloud, moments later it settled, revealing NovaStar still standing. **500 = 500** (NovaStar) "You survived!? How-" he stopped himself, and remembered something. "Your last face-down..." he said

"You sir are correct! I activated the Trap, Defense Draw!" NovaStar waved over to her face-up card, showing that it was that mentioned card. "When you attacked with Great General, I activated it, not only did it make the battle damage from General become 0, but it also lets me draw a card." she then drew a card. "If you had that card, why not use it when Rihan attacked?" he asked.

"... Dramatic effect!" she said smiling and shrugging, making nearly everyone fall over. "What? People used to do that all the time!" she defended at them. "Very well, this match shall last a bit longer, I end my turn! with it ending Sheriff's effect ends, and so does Gateways!" **2900 = 2400** (Rihan), **1000 = 2000** (Great General)

Shogun's Hand x 0

 **Turn 6**

" _Okay, so he's better than I thought..._ " NovaStar thought, _"But I can still win this!"_ "My turn! I draw!" she drew her card. "Since I control no monsters, and you do, I can once again Special Summon Dragon from my Hand!" Dragon appeared once more on the Field in her Right Main Monster Zone.

"Then I activate the Field Spell, Cybermax Salvation!" the card appeared on her Field, the image was that of multiple Cybermax monsters standing in a circle holding hands, being bathed in light. "When this card is activated, I can Special Summon 1 Cybermax monster from my Hand or Deck!" she tapped her final card. "I Summon Cybermax Mage!"

Appearing on her Field was a Mage, similar to Wize Wizard, but it was red and orange, also instead of a staff, it held a simple metal rod as a wand. It was Summoned her Middle Main Monster Zone in Defense.

 **Cybermax Mage: LIGHT, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 400 **DEF/1000**

"Also Salvation's effect give all Cybermax monsters 500 ATK!" Dragon's ATK: **2100 + 500 = 2600** , Mage's ATK: **400 + 500 = 900**. "Mage's effect! Once per turn, I can return 1 card on my Field to my Hand!" she said, making Shogun flinch at what was coming.

"I return Salvation to my Hand!" Salvation returned to her Hand, much to Shogun's confusion. "This then let's me add a card from my Deck to my Hand which is the same type as the returned card!" she added a Spell.

"Then Salvation's final effect activates!" she grinned out, "When returned to my Hand from the Field, I can Link Summon a Cybermax Link Monster by banishing Link Material from my Graveyard!" Shogun was shocked, "Even your Cybermax Traps and Spells have returning effects!?" he yelled out.

"One more time! Appear, the Circuit that shines like a Star!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least three Cybermax monsters! I banish and set my three Ninjas and a Knight in the Link Markers!" All four mentioned cards appeared before her, before turning into twister, the three Ninjas hit the Middle Left, Right, and Bottom, and the Knight hit the Middle Top, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 4, Cybermax Courageous Champion!" The Link Portal widened a bit, letting a new Cybermax monster fall down, it was robotic huge, and stood tall, it was garbed in black cyber armour, with red circuit stripes all over the armour, with red orbs at the joints, its face was concealed, only showing its purple glowing eyes. On parts of the armour were hexagonal panels, with circuit patterns on them. In its hand was colossal two handed energy. sword, which was sparking with electricity, mounted onto its back were several other energy based weapons.

 **Cybermax Courageous Champion: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅⬆⬇➡

"Impossible! How could you have done this! Only someone like Playmaker and Codebuster could do something like that!" Shogun yelled out, his true self showing a bit in fear of the monster.

That comment made her smile, "Then I guess that means that makes me a good as them!" she said, "I now activate Champion's effect! It gains up to three effects based upon the number of monsters it points to!" she began as Champion glowed.

"Its first effect when it points to one monster, I can return 1 Cybermax monster on my Field to my Hand..." Dragon returned to her Hand. "This lets Champions gain ATK equal to half of Dragon's original ATK!" Champion's ATK: **3000 + 1050 = 4050**. "Then Dragon's effect! I now destroy Gateway of the Six!" Shogun was shocked, he then turned to the door, which began to slowly crack, and then shattered.

"With it gone, Great General loses 600 ATK!" **2000 - 600 = 1400** (Great General) "This has been great, but all things must come to an end! Battle! Courageous Champion attacks Great General!" Champion slowly raised its sword over its head, the sword then glowed. "Cyber Power Wave!" Champion the sword down, which generated an energy slash which made its way to General, and tried to block the attack with his sword, but the sword cracked and broke under the pressure of the attack, destroying the monster. **1250 - 2650 = 0**. (Shogun)

NovaStar: **WINS**

Shogun: **LOSES**

"And that there folks, is game!" she said smiling as the crowd cheered for her.

"Aww man, I can't believe I lost..." Shogun moaned, losing his acting voice, "I-I-I mean... That was a spectacular Duel, Lady NovaStar!" he quickly caught himself and bowed to her, making her giggle.

"How chivalrous of you, Shogun!" she did a curtest to him, "And that ladies and gentleman is my debut in this Server, I look forward to Dueling anyone who challenges me!" she said and then logged out...

* * *

"Hmm, that sure was interesting." Asuka said as she and Matoyia, who came down like 10 minutes, annoyed that he failed to get Playmaker were serving their dinner, which was tempura.

"Still, she got in the way of my contract, If she gets in the way again, I'm taking her out." Matoyia said, he would not put up with that girl again. "I'm sure she didn't mean to Matoyia..." Aito said, "I know, but still." he said as they say down to eat.

"Still, though, the Cyberse influence back then spread out of Den City, who knows what other Cyberse are out there." she muttered, "If that is true, then Hanoi having probably watched the Duel, will likely think the same thing, and will likely spread out to eliminate them all." Matoyia said, "And I can't stop them, If I did go into a different server in a different city, the frame rate would be slow even for me." he said.

"So it's out of your reach to stop." she guessed, "Basically, this is likely the same for Playmaker, even if his base of operations is mobile." he said, he knew that as he was been using the IP he got from them, and found out whenever he used it, the signal came from a different location every time, making him guess it was mobile.

"But with NovaStar using Cyberse, Hanoi will go after her, but her VGR - Hunter saves her, seeing that her data is stored directly into the device, making it harder for Hanoi to find her." he said.

"Speaking of Hanoi, did you watch Medusa at school Aito?" Asuka asked, making Matoyia look at her suspicious at where she was going with this. "Yeah, she sure was amazing..." he said.

"Matoyia thought that too!" she said looking at Matoyia smug, "Oh not that again Asuka..." he groaned out, "Why not? It not every day you fall for a beauty!" she teased, making him go red in the cheeks, making her and Aito smile at this...

* * *

 **(20: 00 PM)**

So you think that NovaStar, is Kasumi Kazusaki, the girl you say is your childhood friend from before the incident?" Shoichi asked Yusaku, who had decided to go home and video chat with him, it was of course encrypted for privacy. Ai was sitted near him as well.

"Yeah, and I have three reason for this." Yusaku said. One: Kasumi and NovaStar appear on the same day, the odds of them being separate people are very low, if she had debuted an early day, then maybe its possible for her not to be really Kasumi." he said, holding a finger up.

"Two: Kasumi resided in Tokyo before transferring to Den City, where the VGR - Hunter was used there, NovaStar uses said Duel Disk, making the odds of them being the same even more likely" he said holding a second finger up.

"And three, when I saw her in Link VRAINS, she gave off his aura, a sad one, like she was hurting and wanting to get rid of the pain." he said holding a third finger, "Did your Link Sense tell you this?" Ai asked. "Yeah, its likely that Kasumi, after our talk was distraught that I didn't accept her back or remembered her after all these years." he said.

"So you actually do believe her?" Shoichi asked, "Yeah, slowly after that encounter, more memories were appearing of her..." he then thought onto those memories, all the times they played games back then.

"Alright, so if that is true, then you need to apologies to her." Shoichi said, "You may have hurt her feeling, you've got to make up for that." he said, "I know" Yusaku said, "On to another problem, concerning NovaStar's Deck, its a Cyberse-Type, I honestly didn't think Cyberse had made it to another city." he said, "Well from what I've research during my time with you two. the Cyberse-Type was so popular back then, that SOL Technologies made a few Archetypes for them and distributed them across Japan!" Ai said.

"It's likely that Hanoi knew this and destroyed all they could in different citys, I've gone to different servers from different cities, and found no traces of Cyberse, except for Tokyo, where NovaStar is from." Shoichi brought up some info about her, "Apparently she was quite popular there, showing up nearly everyday, until a few weeks ago. Guess we know why now." he said.

"So what are we going to do?" Ai said, "Are we going to help her fend off Hanoi? Or let her do her thing for now?" it asked.

"The second, from that Duel I think she is capable of handling herself. But if Hanoi do come for her, I'll be there to stop them..." he said...

* * *

 **(22:23 PM)**

At Kasumi's place, she seated in front of her newly placed desk with a mounted mirror, brushing her hair, and humming a tune to herself, "That Duel was great, I feel better already." she then finished and placed the brush down and looked at her reflection and smiled.

"And meeting Playmaker was great..." she blushed remembering the hero she meet, "I kind of saved his live back there" she then thought more on Playmaker, and remembered his eyes, " _Wait? Where have I seen those eyes before?_ " she then thought about them, and she was sure they looked familiar, but she couldn't quiet place them to someone.

Minutes later, she groaned, having given up, "Oh well, it will come to me eventually." she then quickly turned off all her lights and crawled into bed, "Maybe I can make things right with Yusaku-kun tomorrow." she mumbled as she dozed off...

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base...**

Still up at this hour was Revolver, who had summoned Spectre, Ares, Valcry, Talon, Vire and Lancelot. "So two new problems have appeared" Revolver said, "First is the Duelist called Medusa, who has full out declared she shall take Hanoi on." he said, making Lancelot grit his teeth.

"Not only that, but that b*tch ruined my plan of finding out who Playmaker was." Lancelot said irritated. "Is there any means of tracking her down?" Valcry asked, "No she planned for this before she appeared, meaning we can't find her and stop her in real life." Revolver said, "And then there is the new girl, NovaStar" he said.

"Oh yeah, that girl uses Cyberse, but I thought we destroyed all of them, from the different servers years ago." Ares said, "We likely missed some, or she wasn't logged in back then, so we couldn't track her down." Vire guessed. "Mostly likely. So now with these two, that makes four in our way. But Medusa's Deck is a Reptilianne, while rare, we can gather info on them, and make counters against it." he turned to them. "NovaStar's Cybermax focus on returning to their monsters to her Hand and triggering their effect, that should be dealt with." he added.

He then changed the subject, "Codebuster seems to be getting more aggressive at trying to corner Playmaker." he said, "I don't see a problem in that, let the two take each other out" Talon said, "You do realise if Codebuster gets that Ignis, are plan to eradicate the Cyberse is over right?" Valcry retorted. "What does SOL plan to do with an Ignis anyway?" Vire asked.

"No clue, it's top secret at the moment, but we will stop them from getting their hands off them. Anything to save humanity." Revolver said...

* * *

 **(23:21 PM)**

Within Link VRAINS, in a specially created server for Den City's Studio was a recording room, where Frog and Pigeon were currently in, having gone through some data that came from Ghost Girl, they had contacted her, knowing she would have something on Playmaker, and boy did she deliver, not only did have exclusive footage of Playmaker versus Revolver, who they know was now Hanoi's leader, along with some question and answers from Ghost Girl in an interview. They planned to make a TV Special.

Called: Exclusive Scoop! Finally Confirmed! What's Playmaker's true identity? Ghost Girl reveals the truth about Playmaker! You must watch this Link VRAINS Special!... It was a work in progress...

Of course the data they paid for was not cheap, so much so that Frog, without Pigeon's consent, was forced to chip into their future bonuses. Sadly not even Ghost Girl knew Playmaker's identity, not that it was problem with all the footage they got. But they learned about an incident ten years ago. By the end of watching the whole data, Frog was teary eyed.

"We did it Yamamoto! The Special is complete!" Pigeon cheered out, "I forgive you for calling me by my real name this one time..." Frog said, "This broadcast will be our exclusive scoop!" ...

* * *

Yusaku was still up, going through the network, in case something involving Playmaker showed up. "Hmm, nothing, guess its time to go to- Oh, one just appeared." he quickly typed in some commands, and-

* * *

Back with Frog and Pigeon, the two were hugging, unaware that their TV Special was now gone, "B-B-Boss! Something's wrong!" Pigeon cried out, having glimpse at the monitor where nothing was on there. Frog also looked and was shocked find not only their TV Special was gone, but also the saved data they had on the other monitor was going one by one.

"Ah! The TV Special's data is being erased" Frog screamed, they rushed to try and save, but- "It's all gone..." Pigeon said sadly. "Yeah... Along with our bonuses...! Frog cried...

End of Chapter 11

* * *

 **Since Yusaku's past is unknown at the moment, we're not sure if his parents are alive or not, so I went with he's an orphan, there seems to be plenty of orphans in Den City, so that could be possible, if that isn't the case, I will come back to this chapter and make changes to it, same with Yamamoto and Saito's actual descriptions out of Link VRAINS...**

 **Kasumi Kazusaki is created by BladeKnightmare, and Akane Yamamoto/Monika Taki is created by Assassinkai742**

 **OC Cards**

 **(Big Boy)**

 **Chromm, General of Dark World**

 **DARK [Fiend/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs: BL, BR**

2 Fiend-Type monsters (Including a "Dark World" monster)

When this card is Link Summoned: Discard 1 card from your Hand: Send 1 "Dark World" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. Once per turn, when a card is discarded from your Hand by a card effect: 1 Fiend-Type monster you control gains 600 ATK until the end of the turn. Card's discarded from your Hand by card effects are treated as being discarded by a card effect your opponent activated (This card must be on the Field to activate and resolve this effect).

 **(Akane/Monika/Medusa) (Assassinkai742)**

 **Reptilianne Cobra**

 **DARK, Level: 4 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/100 DEF/1800**

When a monster's ATK becomes 0: You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) You can only Special Summon "Reptilianne Cobra" this way once per turn. While this card is face-up on the Field: Monsters with 0 ATK cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per duel, if this card is sent to the GY as Synchro Material: Draw 1 card for every monster your opponent controls with 0 ATK.

 **Reptilianne Boa**

 **DARK, Level: 2 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/900**

Once per turn, target 1 monster on the Field: Equip this card onto that target, OR: Unequip this card, and Special Summon it in Attack Position. Apply the following effect, depending who controls the monster this card is equipped to: You: When that monster attacks an opponent's monster: That monster's ATK becomes 0. Your opponent: If the equipped monster attacks a "Reptilianne" monster: It's ATK becomes 0, but it cannot be destroyed in that battle. If this card is Special Summoned: 1 monster's ATK your opponent controls becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.

 **Reptilianne Adder**

 **DARK, Level: 3 [Reptile/Tuner/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/800**

This card cannot be used as Synchro or Xyz Material, unless for the Summoning of a Reptile-Type monster. You can send 1 Reptile-Type monster from your Hand to the GY: Special Summon this card (from your Hand) Twice per turn, target 1 Reptile-Type monster you control; activate 1 of the following effects:

1) Increase that monster's Level by 1

2) Decrease that monster's Level by 1.

 **Reptilianne's Flute**

 **Normal Spell**

Send 1 face-up monster on the Field with 0 ATK: Add 1 "Reptilianne" monster from your Deck to your Hand. If the sent monster was controlled by your opponent; you cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn. You can use only 1 "Reptilianne's Flute" once per turn

 **Snake's Vice**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card if you take battle damage involving a "Reptilianne" monster. Special Summon back that monster from your GY, if destroyed, then make the ATK of both it, and the monster that battled it become 0. During each Standby Phase after this card was activated: Inflict 300 damage to any player who controls a monster affected by this card's effect.

 **Reptilianne Basilisk**

 **DARK, Level: 7 [Reptile/Synchro/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/1900**

1 Tuner plus 1plus non-Tuner Reptile-Type monsters

When this card is Special Summoned: Draw 1 card, if that card is a "Reptilianne" monster; you can reveal it, draw 1 more card. When a monster(s) ATK becomes: Inflict 300 damage each to the controller of those monsters. Once per turn, target 1 monster your opponent controls: It's ATK becomes 0 for the rest of the turn, but it cannot be destroyed by battle, also battle damage involving it is halved. If this card is in your GY: You can tribute 2 Reptile-Type monsters you control; Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect once per turn.

 **Skill: Gorgon's Glare**

Tribute 1 Reptile-Type monster you control: The ATK of all face-up monsters currently on the Field (but 1 one, you choose) becomes 0 for the rest of the turn, also battle damage to any player involving the monsters affected by this effect is halved.

 **(Kasumi/NovaStar) (BladeKnightmare)**

 **Cybermax Dragon**

 **LIGHT, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/2100 DEF/1400**

If you control no monsters and your opponent does: Special Summon this card (from your Hand) You can only Special Summon this card this way once per turn. This card can declare a second attack during each Battle Phase. If this card is returned to your Hand from the Field: (Quick Effect) Target 1 card your opponent controls, destroy it. You can only use this effect once per turn.

 **Cybermax Ninja**

 **LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/600**

You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) by returning 1 "Cybermax" monster you control on your Field to your Hand. This card can attack your opponent directly, but battle damage to your opponent is halved if you do. If this card is returned to your Hand from the Field: (Quick Effect) Send this card from your Hand to the GY; Special Summon up to 2 "Cybermax Ninjas" from your Hand or Deck, but their effects are negated, also they cannot attack the turn they're Summoned this way.

 **Cybermax Lancer**

 **LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/400**

If you control 2 or more "Cybermax" monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Hand or GY. Once per turn, send 1 card from your Hand to the GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; its ATK & DEF becomes half its original until the end of the turn, also switch that monster's position (if possible) This card can inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent when it battles a monster in Defense. If this card is returned to your Hand from the Field: (Quick Effect) The ATK of 1 monster your opponent controls becomes 0 for the rest of the turn, but all battle damage to your opponent is halved the turn you activate this effect.

 **Cybermax Knight**

 **LIGHT, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/DEF: 1800/1000**

If this card is Normal Summoned: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Cybermax" monster from your Hand in Defense Position. Once per turn, when this card battles: (Quick Effect) return 1 other card you control on the Field to your Hand; this card gains 600 ATK for the rest of the turn. If this card is returned to your Hand from the Field: (Quick Effect) All "Cybermax" monsters you currently control gain 1000 ATK until the end of the turn.

 **Cybermax Mage**

 **LIGHT, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/400 DEF/1000**

Once per turn, return 1 card on your Field to your Hand: Add 1 card from your Deck to your Hand that is the same type as the returned card. If this card is returned to your Hand from the Field: (Quick Effect) All "Cybermax" monsters you currently control are unaffected by your opponent's card effects for the rest of the turn.

 **Cybermax's Salvation**

 **Field Spell**

All "Cybermax" monsters gain 500 ATK while this card is face-up on the Field. When this card is activated: Special Summon 1 "Cybermax" from your Hand. Once per turn, during any turn that a "Cybermax" monster is destroyed: Return that monster to your Hand, but you cannot activate its effects. If a "Cybermax" monster is returned to your Hand from the Field: Special Summon 1 "Cybermax" monster from your Deck whose name is different to the returned monster's name. If this face-up card is returned to your Hand: Shuffle this card into your Deck, then Special Summon 1 "Cybermax" Link Monster from your Extra Deck by banishing material from your GY. (This Special Summon is treated as a Link Summon)

 **Return to Sender**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

You can return 1 monster on the Field to the Hand of the controller of that monster, then that controller draws 1 card.

 **Cybermax Safeguard**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card when a "Cybermax" monster is attacked. For the rest of the turn this card was activated: All "Cybermax" monster destroyed by battle are returned to your Hand, but you can only activate the effect of 1 "Cybermax" monster returned to your Hand if you do. If this Set card is returned to your Hand: Your opponent must send 1 card from their Hand to the GY.

 **Cybermax Firewall**

 **Counter Trap**

Should a "Cybermax" monster be targeted for an effect: Return that monster to your Hand, and if you do, negate that effect, then inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. If this Set card is returned to your Hand: Special Summon 2 "Cybermax Tokens" (Level: 1/Cyberse-Type/LIGHT/ ATK: 0/DEF:0) in Defense Position.

 **Cybermax Wise Wizard**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/600 LINK/-1, LMs: B**

1 Level 4 or lower "Cybermax" monster

Once per turn, if this card points to no monsters: Special Summon 1 "Cybermax" monster from your Deck in Defense Position in the Monster Zone this card points to. Once per turn, target the monster this card points to; return it to your Hand, and if you do, draw 1 card. If this card is returned to your Extra Deck: (Quick Effect) Add 1 card in your GY to your Hand.

 **Cybermax Glitching Gladiator**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs: BL, BR**

2 "Cybermax" monsters

This card gains 300 ATK for every monster it points to. Once per turn, target 1 card your opponent controls for every monster this card points to: Send them to the GY for the rest of the turn. If a monster this card points to is returned to your Hand: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent. If this card is returned to your Extra Deck: (Quick Effect) Special Summon 1 "Cybermax" monster from your GY.

 **Cybermax Surging Sheriff**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2400 LINK/-3, LMs: BL, T, BR**

2 plus "Cybermax" monsters

Your opponent cannot target monsters this card points to for card effects, except this card. Once per turn, return 1 monster this card points to the controller of that monster, and if you do, activate 1 of the following effects: 1) Destroy all monsters on the Field with ATK, less or equal than the returned monster's original ATK, but this card cannot declare an attack this turn. 2) When this card battles a monster: That monster loses ATK equal to the half the returned monster's original ATK during that battle. If this card is returned to your Extra Deck: (Quick Effect) Negate the effects of all face-up monsters currently on the Field.

 **Cybermax Courageous Champion**

 **LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs L, T, B, R**

3 plus "Cybermax" monsters

Once per turn, you can activate the following effects, depending on the number of monsters this card points to: 1 plus) Target 1 "Cybermax" monster you control; return it to the Hand, then make this card gain ATK equal to half the returned monster's original ATK. 2 plus) Return cards your opponent controls up to the number of "Cybermax" monsters you control, but this card cannot declare an attack this turn if you do. 3) Should this card be destroyed by battle: Return 1 monster this card points to, to the controller of that monster; the monster this card battled is destroyed instead. If this card is returned to your Extra Deck: (Quick Effect) Destroy all cards on the Field, except face-up "Cybermax" cards.

 **If you're confused why her Deck is Cyberse, I never said you couldn't have Cyberse, only 2 people saw this... Cya next time!**


	12. Chapter 12: Tainted Souls

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or TV Speaking_ "

* * *

Somehow, someway, NoPlayer found himself Dueling Codebuster, he couldn't remember how this came to be.

Currently he was losing an unwinnable Duel against the hunter, who controlled Weirdware Repeater in the Left Extra Monster Zone, and Weirdware Fail-Safe Dragon linked to it in his Middle Main Monster Zone. those two combined, had shut down his strategies, he now had nothing but his single face-down.

It was Codebuster's turn. "Time to end this! Fail-Safe Dragon! Attack him directly!" Fail-Safe Dragon began to charge its attack, its green wings turning orange. "Disruptor Burst!" the dragon unleashed its attack. "Trap activate, Machina Counter Tactic!" NoPlayer quickly yelled out, his face-down flipped up. "That's pointless, Fail-Safe Dragon's effect activates, and negates and sends your Trap to the Graveyard..." Counter Tactic's effect was instantly negated, and sent to the Graveyard.

NoPlayer watch as his last defense was gone, the glow of attack got to bright, making him look up and see the attack make its way and hit-

* * *

 **AnDru's Home, Tuesday, (6:30 AM)**

 ***Beep! Beep! Beep*** Suddenly AnDru say up in his bed, covered in sweat, having just awakened from his nightmare, which had been reoccurring for the last few days ever since he saw Fail-Safe Dragon in action. His alarm clock still going off, ***Beep! Be-*** He hit the snooze button, silencing the device. "Mmm..." he groaned out rubbing the tiredness from his eyes.

" _Damn that dragon..._ " his sleep problem wasn't helped that he still remembered taking damage against that Guard awhile back, as well as staying up late looking for Duelist to defeat. He would be able to sleep, if his dream self could beat that Dragon, sure he had plently of cards that could help to counter it, Hunter came to mind, but it was too late, as Dream Codebuster always brought Fail-Safe out on his first turn.

" _I_ _really need to find something to counter it, but what could be strong enough to do so?_ " he thought, he then got out of bed, and made his way over to his mirror, to see his reflection.

It wasn't that bad, one wouldn't be able to tell he wasn't getting much sleep unless they looked real hard.

As he swept some hair across the front of his head, which he thought was in need of a haircut, he glanced behind him in the mirror, and spotted his bottom draw, " _I've never actually looked at them, but I remember dad's letter say they were powerful..._ " he forced away the memories of that day, and made his way over to his bottom draw, opened it.

Within it, was some old bits and bobs, but in the middle of all that was a small rectangular black box, locked by a 4 digit pin number, he took that out and placed it on top of his desk. he turned it over, where an envelope was slipped into a pocket attached onto the box. _"I don't remember the code, from when a read it."_ He went to grab the envelope- "AnDru! Good morning!" Emy shouted from the other side of his door, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oh, morning." he said back, "Time for you to get ready for school, you know mum, even though she's tired and sleepy, she has to get up!" she said, after that the sound of footsteps were followed going down.

" _I g_ _uess, I'll get back to this after school and work..._ " he put the box back into his bottom draw, and made his way downstairs...

* * *

 **Café Haru, (7:12 AM)**

" _... And then there is a 20% chance of rain occurring today, but if it did, I'm sure the little kids would love to play in the rain!_ " a woman, dressed in a short dress, lined with puffy clouds, with suns, rain clouds and snowflake around it, she also wore a vest which appeared to be of clouds as well. She also wore sky blue long sleeve gloves, she carried an umbrella. On her cheeks was a rain drop tattoo, her eyes were green, and her long flowing hair was golden yellow. " _That's all for the weather today folks! Forecast will be back tomorrow with a new report!_ " the woman, now called Forecast said, before the regular new turned back on.

Up right now, making chocolate-chip pancakes, which Raymond said was a great breakfast starter in America, he had tried them before, and loved them, so he was making them again, for himself, Asuka and Aito.

He was also getting himself ready for the day, seeing that all bounty hunters were given an alert about a hacker called Anonymous, who had hacked into a private government's mainframe and stolen valuable data. So he had that to do...

Another thing he had to do was find someone called Mole, this wasn't work related, but for the past few days, ever since he defeated Lancelot, whenever he logged into Link VRAINS for patrols, he got this bad feeling that something terrible was going to happen and soon, so finding Mole was his best bet at finding out what was going to happen, as they mostly seem to know what was happening in the dark side of the network.

" _Unless I'm just being paranoid..._ " he thought flipping his pancakes, still it couldn't help to know if something was happening, but the problem with Mole was that they were never around when you needed them, so anyone looking for their info had to track them down. " _Regular tracking won't find him, but if I boost my sensors, that may help, maybe if I create one, and install it, that should help, not only with finding Mole, but also Anonymous._ " he thought on what he would need to build this, luckily he knew where to get these parts.

But he would do that later after his patrol and shift. "Morning Matoyia" Asuka muttered walking in, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Morning, I made pancakes." he said back scooping the finished pancake onto her plate as she sat down, which made her inhale the aroma they gave out. "Mmm..." she moaned blissfully.

"Okay... Didn't know you like them that much..." he said starting to make his lot, she blushed as she silently ate her pancakes, at this Aito walked in, already in his school uniform, minus the jacket. "Morning bud!" Matoyia said adding the chocolate chips to the batter, "..." Aito said nothing.

"What's wrong sweety, you've been a acting off since yesterday..." Asuka asked, concerned since yesterday, she got this feeling from her little brother, a sibling thing you could say.

"You know Yusaku, right?..." he asked, "Sure the boy that helped you when you... You know..." Matoyia said, not bring up that... "Well, there was this new transfer student yesterday..." he began, this caught Matoyia's attention. "And she..." he began, "Oh, a girl! Is she cute?" Asuka asked, making the boy go red in the cheeks. "Continue..." Matoyia said.

"A-As I was saying, she was a new, and apparently, she's Yusaku childhood friend from long ago..." he said, "Oh, how Juicy-" "Don't interrupt..." Matoyia cut her off, making her pout.

"Well, she told Yusaku this after school, but he didn't take it as she expected, and I could tell she was hurt by it..." he said, "Aww, well that sucks..." Asuka said, "Well what did she expect to happen..." Matoyia flipped his pancakes, "Some stranger suddenly appears, and say they're your childhood best friend from years ago? Any one would be suspicious of that..." he said.

"That's the thing, apparently Yusaku doesn't remember her... And she said he used to be different to what he's like now..." Aito said, "What else do you know about her?" Asuka asked as Matoyia did some more flips.

"Her name which is Kasumi Kazusaki..." he said, more flips were made, "Oh, that, and she used to be from Tokyo!" he finished, almost instantly, like a record scratching, Matoyia put too much force into his next flip and his pancake was sent to the ceiling, his face one of shock.

The two siblings looked up at the stuck pancake, and then at Matoyia who slowly turned around to face them. "Could you repeat that?" he asked... As the pancake fell and covered his face, making him sigh in defeat...

* * *

 **Mars's Apartment, (same time)**

Currently in his kitchen, eating his breakfast was Mars, drinking some coffee and scrolling through the news on his tablet, he kept scrolling, catching glimpses of the headlines of articles, but stopped when he stopped at a certain one. " _What are the Cyberse?_ " he read the headline, and looked at the images below, they showed Playmaker, along with Decode Talker, Codebuster, with Rewire, (it was rare to see any images of those two nowadays) and recently added was NovaStar and a small video showing her Summoning a Cybermax.

" _Ever since Playmaker appeared, more and more of these Cyberse-Type have appeared_ , _it was said, that 5 years ago, Cyberse were plentiful, and abundant, but then they suddenly vanished, this was around the same time that the Knights of Hanoi appeared, leading most to believe the two are connected, but why? What purpose do Hanoi gain from erasing all Cyberse, and are there more Duelist out there with Cyberse? See more by clicking this link-_ " he read and stopped, not needing to read that crap, as he already knew the truth.

"God I hate it when people make stupid theories on something, but I kind of like it when they feel stupid when they're wrong in the end." he said, " _I'll need to get ready soon._ " he continued to eat, but as he did, he thought on what Revolver said last night...

* * *

 **Last night, Hanoi's Base...**

"You're sending him out?" Valcry said, "Yes, during the destruction of the Cyberse monsters in the many servers, he destroyed the most, it makes since for him to be the choice to hunt down anymore that we missed." Revolver said. "Alright, but what if he doesn't find any? You're sending away someone who could help us, when the Tower is ready, are you going to risk that?" Ares said.

"Do not worry, we have another plan that should lure out Playmaker and the Ignis, before that Tower turns on. So sending out ThunderClash will make no difference..." Revolver said...

* * *

Mars had only meet Thunderclash like about several times during the Cyberse Hunts, and he could say that what Revolver said was true. "It shouldn't take him that long." he said, he then thought on his own goals that he wanted to complete before the Tower was activated. "I still need prove of that incident to take them down, but where can I find it?" even though Lancelot let slip of it during his Duel against Codebuster, nobody was actually talking about it.

"There is the data deep with SOL's data banks, but that's dangerous, even for me to go in by myself..." he muttered, "Maybe, if I could gain a backdoor program, I could trick Codebuster or Playmaker into going into it, SOL, if watching would likely think that the two lefted a breach, that a Hanoi knight could enter..." he smiled, as he pictured his plan coming together... But for now, he had to get ready for work...

* * *

 **Den City High School, (8:51 AM)**

Walking within the hallways was Yusaku, his Duel Disk on his arm, "So, what's the plan for the apology?" Ai asked, as they were alone, "I'll just say sorry..." he said, "That's it!? You need to do better than that, she may still be hurting from yesterday." it said, "Why are you making such a big deal out of this, it's not like you know her." Yusaku said. "Do you?" he suddenly asked for some reason.

"Look! There she is!" Ai moved its eye in one direction, making the boy look at that direction, to in fact see Kasumi, who had appeared the other way and headed into the classroom, "Good luc-" Yusaku immediately muted him.

He walked into the classroom, and looked to the back row, where Naoki was seated already, as was Kasumi, who looked down, due to him he guessed. He then took his sit next to her.

Neither of the two said anything, and Kasumi didn't look up at him, "Hey..." he broke the silence. "Hey..." she said back... While Naoki looked between the two, "What's with you two?" he asked genuinely confused, "Shima, could you give us a moment?" Yusaku asked, Naoki shrugged and just stood up, and walked away.

With him gone, "I'm sorry..." he said, making her look up, "I can tell you wanted to reconnect after so long, but since you've been gone, somethings have happened, leaving me with some trust issues... So I'm sorry for just leaving yesterday." he said. "That's alright, and I'm sorry as well." she said, shocking him with that, what did she have to apologies for?

"When I saw you yesterday, I wasn't thinking about how you would feel when I dropped the bomb to about who I am..." she began, "I just... Wanting my best friend back after being away for so long." she managed a small smile, before it faded, "But I guess he's gone, in a sense..." she frowned, picturing a young Yusaku smiling kindly at her, then she looked fully at him, and saw his neutral expression.

"So I guess you now remember me?" she asked, "Yeah, it happened a while after you told me, but I still at first fought them off..." she frowned at that, "But, I've come to accept them, it's nice to have something of my past that I can't remember." what he said shocked her, "You lost your memories?" she asked shocked, that would explain him not remembering. "I don't want to talk about it." he said.

"So, what now?" she asked, "We can go our separate ways..." she looked away sadly, "But..." she then looked up at him again, "We can be friends again, just not think about our past relation, and start anew." he said, this time she smiled, genuinely this time. "I would like that..." she said.

"Okay then." he said, with that he faced forward while she got her stuff out. "Sheesh, are you two done?" Naoki returned and sat down in his seat again, "By the way, Kasumi." he asked, "Yes?" she said, "How do you know Fujiki?" he asked. "Oh he's my childhood friend from 11 years ago." she answer.

"Oh alright..." he said and then focused on his notepad...

...

...

...

"WAIT WHAT!?" he suddenly screamed out in shock...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (12:35 AM)**

Walking about on the streets, was VictoryCrafter, and chained to his Duel Disk was a briefcase, with neon purple stripes on it, within it was some important data that he had to deliver to some, as part of his job, which he managed to get (due to the fact that he didn't mention his habit to the interviewer this time, advice he got from a chat group, who all told him the same thing.)

He had no idea what was within it, but that was okay, as part of his assignment was to not look into the case, as he had to deliver it to its client how had purchased it. All he knew was that this was illegal, due to the fact to he hacked into the companies mainframe.

"Let me see..." he activated his holo map, a blinking dot appeared, showing him where he had to go, "Perfect, I should make it there in 20 minutes, plenty of them for them to make it at 1 PM." he said smiling, finally things were starting to go his way, nothing could possibly go wrong-

"VictoryCrafter!" someone yelled at him, making him flinch as he remembered who it was. He carefully looked back, sweat starting to form as stomping towards him was a lanky grey alien dress in high tech armour, with two huge black pupil less eyes.

"Oh h-h-hey, Martian. H-How have-e-e you been?" VictoryCrafter asked, sweating more as the now named Martian got right up to him, other Avatars making room, watching from the sides and watching the two.

"Been better, I've been trying to find work in here" Martian said calmly, then out of nowhere- "BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE OF THAT JOB FROM 3 YEARs AGO!" he roared as he grabbed VictoryCrafter by his collar...

* * *

 **3 Years ago**

Within a warehouse, where a couple of armed avatars were standing guard, they were keeping watch, making sure no one entered to steal what was inside.

On top of the roof however, cloaked by a stealth program was Martian and VictoryCrafter, who had just gotten the job that day. "Remember the plan, you keep watch while I sneak in and steal the data, got it?" Martian said to newbie of this line of work. "Got it!" VictoryCrafter, Hunter then generated a reel of rope, attached it near the open ceiling window, and attached the line onto himself.

He then climbed down into the window, and slowly descended down. Below him, were several laser, and resting on a pedestal was a jewel, which was container for valuable data.

Still on the rooftop was VictoryCrafter, who was keeping watch, " _Okay, the coast is still-_ " he began, "Ah-" he suddenly inhaled, " _Uh oh..."_ "Ah- AH-" he suddenly caught himself. After that, he sighed in relief. " ***Phew*** _Glad that's over-_ AHCOO!" he suddenly sneezed loudly.

Instantly all the armed avatars looked to his location and armed their weapons. "Ahhhhhhh!" he instantly screamed out, accidentally kicking the reel, and sending Martian plummeting through all the lasers, sending the alarm off.

"Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!" VictoryCrafter said panicking, he then made his way over to the window and down at Hunter, who was getting up, just as the avatars busted through the doors and took aim at him. "Sorry to do this to ya Martian, but I'm outta here!" was the last thing VictoryCrafter said, before logging out, just as another lot of avatars got up to the roof.

Martian who stood up, growled at where VictoryCrafter once stood, but stopped as he heard the whirl of the weapons charging...

* * *

"Because of that job, I became a laughing stock to everyone in the gig, no one would take me on, as its was in the news..." Martian gritted out, clenching onto VictoryCrafter tighter, who was beginning to choke.

"Now I can get my revenge..." Martian's shoulder mounted plasma cannon extended and took aim at the Block Mob Duelist's forehead, "This babe will instantly delete your account." Martian grinned as VictoryCrafter looked frightened.

"Any last words you bastard?" Martian released his grip slightly, letting him breath and gasp in virtual air.

At first he didn't say a thing, he then looked behind him, had got shocked more, "IT'S HANOI!" he screamed out, making everyone including Martian to look to where he was looking... Only to see nothing.

"There's nothing there idiot, and that won't stop me from-" Martian said looking back to face VictoryCrafter... Only to stare at the remains of VictoryCrafter's torn shirt...

* * *

" ***Huff! Huff! Huff!*** " VictoryCrafter huffed out, sprinting down the street, his torn shirt, which he forced to ripped, was beginning to repair itself. "VICTORYCRAFTER! " Martian roared out behind, beginning to charge after him, sending avatars flying in his wake.

"GET BACK HERE YOU f*^&%$&$ LITTLE MAGGOT!" he roared out, his plasma cannon beginning to charge.

"Leave me alone!" VictoryCrafter screamed, he then sprang into the air, where a D-Board began to materialise, he landed on it, its thruster kicked in, sending him flying forward.

Just as he calmed down, "YOUR NOT SAFE YET MORON!" he flinched and slowly looked back, to see Hunter in the air, also on a D-Board, but his was covered with hi-tech weapons.

"There's only one way you're getting out of this you S%&*!" he growled out. "Fine! If it gets me away from you faster, I accept!" VictoryCrafter growled out. The two then surfed on a Data Storm stream.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing 4 cards each.

VictoryCrafter's LP: **4000**

Martian's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'm going first!" VictoryCrafter said, ""My turn!" he looked at his cards. "I activate the Field Spell, Block Biome - Cold!" the Field Spell appeared, showing a block landscape, that was experiencing a snow storm.

"Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 non-WATER Block Mob monster from your Hand!" he picked his choice, "I Summon Block Mob - Spider!" the blocky spider appeared on his Field in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Block Mob - Spider: EARTH, Level: 6 [Insect/Effect] ATK/2200 DEF/** 1600

"Then I Set a monster and a face-down..." two more cards appeared on his Field, the set monster in the Right Main Monster Zone, and the other set card in the Left Spell & Trap Zone. "And end my turn!"

VictoryCrafter's Hand x 0

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I draw!" Hunter drew his card. "I activate the Continous Spell, Code A Ancient Ruins!" the card appeared on his Field in his Right Spell & Trap Zone. "Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, "A" Cell Recombination Device!" another card appeared on the Field, "I target 1 face-up monster on the Field, send 1 Alien monster from my Hand to the Graveyard..." he sent his choice to the Graveyard.

"I then place A Counters on the target equal to the Level of the sent monster!" 4 blobby purple parasitic creatures appeared on the Field. "I pick Spider!" the creatures then flew over to Spider and latched on it. Spider's Counter Count (A): **0 + 4 = 4**.

"And now I activate the effect of Overlord from my Hand!" he tapped the card, "I can remove 2 A Counters from anywhere on the Field, and Special Summon it!"

2 of the creatures on Spider shrank, died and fell off, they floated over to Hunter's side, turned into light, **4 - 2 = 2** (Spider) There was a flash of light, and when it was over, a hideous alien monster appeared, covered in black organic looking armour, red skin, three pairs of arms, and a two barrel cannon in its chest, it screeched as it appeared in Hunter's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Alien Overlord: DARK, Level: 6 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/2200 DEF/** 1600

"Cold's effect!" VictoryCrafter shouted out, in slight fear at seeing the creature. "When monsters are Special Summoned while its face-up, they cannot declare attacks the turn they are Special Summoned." he explained. "Then I Activate Overlord's effect!" Overlord began to choke, a moment later it coughed up a A Counter, "Once per turn, I can place 1 A Counter on every face-up monster you control!" the parasitic Counter flew over to Spider and latched onto it. **2 + 1 = 3** (Spider)

"Then I Normal Summon Alien Telepath! A gigantic slug creature with a huge mouth with fangs and two long feelers appeared in Hunter's Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Alien Telepath: FIRE Level: 4 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"Then I activate Telepath's effect! By removing an A Counter from a monster you control..." one of the parasites on Spider died off, **3 - 1 = 2** (Spider) "I can destroy 1 Spell or Trap you control!" Telepath's body glowed, "I'll destroy your Set card!" VictoryCrafter's set card burst into particles. "Battle! Telepath attacks Spider!" he ordered confusing the Hacker.

"Both Telepath's and Overlord's effects! When an Alien monster battles a monster with A Counters on it, that monster loses 300 ATK and DEF per Counter!" VictoryCrafter became shocked by this, since both his monster's had this effect, it applied twice. Spider's ATK & DEF: **2200/1600 - 300x4 = 1200 = 1000/400**.

Telepath spat out a fireball which hit Spider, and burned it to a crisp. VictoryCrafter's LP: **4000 - 600 =** **3400**.

"And now I end my turn!" Hunter said content for now, he knew all about the Hacker's Main Deck, and knew what that Set monster was.

Martian's Hand x 0

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I Draw!" VictoryCrafter drew his card. " _This will do nicely..._ " he thought looking at the drawn card. "I activate Cold's effect!" Cold returned to his Deck, which then shuffled itself. "During either of our turns I can Shuffle it into my Deck and activate a Block Biome Field Spell from my Hand or Deck! I pick from my Deck, Dangerous Block Biome - Nether!"

the new card appeared in his Field Zone, showing a strange world, filled with strange Block Mob monsters. "When this card is activated: I can draw 2 cards..." he did just that. "But then I must discard 1" he sent a card to his Graveyard. "Since I now control a Nether card, I can Special Summon Block Mob - Blaze from my Hand!"

From a puff of smoke appeared a fiery block monster, made up of a blocky head and some blaze rods, which were an item in Minecraft. It appeared in his Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Block Mob - Blaze: FIRE, Level: 7 [Pyro/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 1000

"Nether's effect! When I Summon a Block Mob, I can add a Block Spell or Trap from my Graveyard to my Hand." he added his card, which was the sent card from Nether's first effect. "Then I Flip Summon my set monster. Who is Block Mob - Creeper!"

A cloud of dust erupted from the set monster, its card flipped over, and some a four legged monster, it was rather lanky, and bared many teeth in its mouth, and two beady black block eyes.

 **Block Mob - Creeper: WIND, Level: 3 [Fiend/Flip/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/** 800

"Now I activate the Continous Spell, Block Spawner!" the card appeared on his Field, an image of a small block cage with many different Block Mob monsters crammed inside it. It was placed in the Left Spell & Trap Zone. "Once per turn, I can target 1 Block Mob monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it by negating its effects!" Spider was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone, as it was the only one in his Graveyard.

"Appear! The Circuit that will build my Victory!" The Link Portal appeared above. "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Block Mob monsters! I now set Creeper and Spider in the Link Markers!" Creeper and Spider turned into blocky twister and hit the Middle Left and Middle Bottom Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Block Mob - Zombie Pigman" appearing from the portal and landing in the Extra Monster Zone to VictoryCrafter's Right was a blocky pigman, but it was dead, shown by its blocky innards and ribs showing, most of its skull was showing as well, and some of its pink skin was going green, and carried in its arm was a blocky sword.

 **Block Mob - Zombie Pigman: EARTH [Zombie/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"Zombie Pigman's effect! It gains 200 ATK for every Block Mob monster in my Graveyard with a different name! There are currently two!" Zombie Pigman's ATK: **1800 + 400 = 2200**.

"Then its other effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon 1 Block Mob - Zombie Pigman Token to a Monster Zone it points to!" a smaller version of Pigman appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Block Mob - Zombie Pigman Token: EARTH, Level: 7 [Zombie/Token] ATK/1000 DEF/** 0

"Once more!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Block Mobs!" he said, then picked his choice, "I now set Link 2 Zombie Pigman and the Zombie Pigman Token in the Link Markers!" the two Pigman turned into blocky twisters, with the Link Monster one splitting into two. Those two hit the Bottom Left and Right, and Token hit the Middle Bottom.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3 Block Mob - Enderman!" Appearing from the portal was a tall dark being, like all Block Mob monsters, it was blocky, its square eyes were purple the irises a dark purple. Its head resembled a skull, and its arms and legs were incredibly long, small wisps of smoke came off it as it was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone Zombie Pigman was in before.

 **Block Mob - Enderman: DARK [Fiend/Link/Effect] ATK/2700 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬇↘

"I now set a card..." a card appeared in his Middle Spell & Trap Zone. "Enderman cannot attack you directly, but it can attack all your monsters once each, starting with the one with the lowest ATK." he explained to his opponent. "Battle Enderman will attack Telepath!" Enderman suddenly teleported, and appeared right in front of Telepath, and then smacked the monster, destroying it. Martian's LP: **4000 - 1100 = 2900**.

Martian smirked at this, "Ancient Ruins's effect! When an Alien monster is destroyed, I place 1 A Counter on it. Ancient Ruins's Counter Count (A): **0 + 1**. "Then I activate my Skill, "A" Infestation!" Martian said as his eyes glowed pale blue. "What!?" VictoryCrafter shouted in shock, "When an Alien monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can place any number of A Counters on your monsters up to the Level of that monster!" he explained.

"Telepath was Level 4, so I place 2 A Counters on both Enderman and Blaze!" 4 of the creatures appeared, then 2 of them latched onto Enderman, then the other 2 latched onto Blaze's blaze rods. Enderman and Blaze's Counter Count (A): **0 + 2 = 2** (Each).

"Then I can Special Summon 1 Alien from my Deck whose Level is equal or lower than the combined number of A Counters on the Field!" a card was ejected from his Deck, after he picked it. "I Summon Alien Skull! A pale white alien, whose torso resembled a skull, it had green orbs on its shoulders, two on its chest which made it along the skull body look like eyes, and two at its hips. It was Summoned to Martian's Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Alien Skull: WIND, Level: 4 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/** 1600 **DEF/1800**

"Then I draw a card for every 3 A Counters on the Field." he drew a card.

" _Damn it! With these Counters and Overlord, he's untouchable..._ " VictoryCrafter said to himself. " _But there is something I can do..._ " he added, "Enderman's effect! Since it destroyed a monster by battle, and sent it to the Graveyard, I can equip that monster onto Enderman!" Telepath appeared back on the Field, before being compacted into a cube, and floated into Enderman's stick arms. "I end my turn!" he said.

VictoryCrafter's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"It's time to end this! My turn! I draw!" Martian drew his card, he then sailed past VictoryCrafter. "Overlord's effect! I place 1 A Counter on each of your face-up monsters!" 2 more of the creatures appeared, 1 for both Enderman and Blaze. **2 + 1 = 3** (Enderman), **2 + 1 = 3** (Blaze).

"Then I activate Ancient Ruins's effect! By removing 2 A Counters from anywhere on the Field..." A counter placed on Blaze was removed. **3 - 1 = 2** (Blaze) Then the Counter on Ancient Ruins was removed. **1 - 1 = 0** (Ancient Ruins) "I can Special Summon 1 Alien from my Graveyard!" Appear! Alien Warrior!" Appearing on his Field in the Left Main Monster Zone was a new alien, it was top heavy, with huge arms with huge claws on its hands and thin hind legs, it was covered with blue orbs.

 **Alien Warrior: EARTH, Level: 4 [Reptile/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 1000

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Unknown!" the Link Portal appeared over Martian, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Reptile monsters! I now set Alien Warrior and Skull in the Link Markers!" Warrior and Skull turned into twister and hit the Bottom Left and Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Alien Shocktrooper Mighty/Frame!" galloping out of the portal was a new Alien, the lower half was that of a lizard's body, where its head would be was the upper body, with two arms with red claws on its fingers, its head was also reptilian, its skin was a dark green, and covering it was a come armour, in its right hand was a curved swords, in its left hand was some kind of shield, but at the bottom on the side was another curved blade. It was Summoned to the other Extra Monster Zone, opposite of Enderman.

 **Alien Shocktrooper Mighty/Frame: LIGHT [Reptile/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"I now activate Mighty/Frame's effect! Once per turn, I can discard a monster..." he did so. "Then place A Counters on face-up monsters equal to that discarded monster's Level!" he said, "The discarded monster was Alien Mother, who is Level is 6, so I place them on Enderman. **3 + 6 = 9** (Enderman)

"I set a card..." a card appeared in his Middle Spell & Trap Zone. "Battle! Alien Shocktrooper Mighty/Frame attacks Enderman!" Mighty/Frame's sword glowed with energy, with the monster charging at Enderman. "At this moment, Overlord's effect makes your monster with A Counters lose 300 ATK and DEF per Counter!" Enderman's ATK: **2700 - 300x9 = 2700 = 0**.

Mighty/Frame's sword hit Enderman right in the forehead, where sparks began to erupt from the point of collison, "Should Enderman be destroyed while equipped with a monster, I can destroy that monster instead!" VictoryCrafter said as Enderman let go of its cube, which turned to dust, "Either way, you take damage!" A shock wave from the attack sent VictoryCrafter hurling forward. **3400 - 1900 = 1500** (VictoryCrafter)

He slowly recovered from the attack, "With damage calculation over, Enderman's ATK returns to normal." **0 =** **2700** (Enderman) "But that doesn't matter! Now Overlord will attack Enderman!" Overlord's chest began to hum to life, "Then its effect kicks in!" **2700 - 300x9 = 2700 = 0**. (Enderman)

"Say goodbye!" Overlord roared as it fired its cannon, leaving a torrent of plasma in its wake, it headed right for Enderman, who did nothing to stop in as it was incinerated, the attack then continued heading for VictoryCrafter, who looked at the attack, his eyes widening in fear.

 ***BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*** A huge explosion erupted right where VictoryCrafter was when he was hit, when it settled, he was gone.

"Hmm, there goes that plan to beat me..." Martian grinned, he then looked down at his Duel Disk, but was shocked at what he saw. "What!? Where is he-" he began, but just then emerging out of the Data Storm Stream was a D-Board, when it landed ahead , it showed VictoryCrafter, shaking himself of data, " ***Phew*** That was close..." he sighed out. **2000** (VictoryCrafter)

"That... That doesn't make sense! Your LP literally became 0 for a second, what did you do? Hack your Duel Disk LP count?" Martian questioned annoyed, VictoryCrafter looked disgusted at this remark.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing!" he yelled out, "And as for how I survived, I activated my Skill, Respawn!" he explained...

* * *

 ***BOOOOOOOOOOOM*** As the explosion hit, VictoryCrafter's LP became 0, **1900 - 1900 = 0** , "I activate my Skill, Respawn!" he yelled, some of the lining of his clothing glowed just before he fell into the data stream. **0 = 2000**...

* * *

"I activated it after my LP became 0." he said, "I can only activate it during your turn when my LP becomes 0, it then makes its become 2000 just before the Duel can register my lost." he smiled, seeing Martian seething face.

"T-That's... That's cheating!" Martian shouted enraged, "Sorry to say this, but this Skill is official, meaning what happened counts." he said smug, "Oh, and after that I can draw 1 card!" he drew a card.

"However..." he began, making Martian calm down, "By using this Skill, during my turn, if I don't win the Duel, I lose instead." he said frowning.

"Oh I see, that Skill was a last resort..." Martian then smiled, "Ha! That means I still win this! I end my turn! Lets see if you can climb your way out of the grave you literally dug yourself." he laughed out.

Martian's Hand x 0

 **Turn 5**

" _Okay, this is literally the final turn for this..._ " he looked down at his Deck, " _I've got some good cards from Respawn, but still not enough, so this draw needs to be really good..._ " he placed his fingers over the top of his Deck. "My turn! I Draw!" he drew his card, then looked at it. " _Perfect!_ " he thought smiling. "I activate Block Biome - Nether's effect! By shuffling it into my Deck..." Nether was shuffled into his Deck. "I can activate the Field Spell, Dangerous Block Biome - The End from my Deck!"

The new Field Spell appeared in his Field Zone, the wasn't like the other Block Biome, rather it looked alien and like another dimension altogether.

"This card can only be activated from the effect of Dangerous Block Biome - Nether..." he began, "Its effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon Block Mob - Enderman from my Graveyard!" Enderman appeared on the Field.

"Like I'm going to let you use that monster against me!" Martian shouted, "I activate the Trap, Planet Pollutant Virus!" Martian's face-down flipped up. "I tribute an Alien monster, which will be Mighty/Frame..." Mighty/Frame lefted the Field, "And then all monsters you control without A Counters are destroyed!" Enderman was then destroyed.

"Ha! There's goes your one chance at beating me!" Martian laughed out, "Actually, that wasn't the plan..." VictoryCrafter said with a grin. "What!?" Martian yelled in confusion.

"Block Spawner's effect! I Special Summon Zombie Pigman by negating its effects!" Pigman appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone, but became dull after losing its effects.

"Then by banishing a Block Mob monster from my Graveyard..." Creeper was banished, "I can Special Summon this card from my Hand! Appear! Tough Block Mob - Iron Golem!" Appearing in his Left Main Monster Zone was a huge bulky blocky golem, its head was tiny compared to its body, with a long nose.

 **Tough Block Mob - Iron Golem: EARTH, Level: 6 [Rock/Effect] ATK/** 1700 **DEF/2400**

"Appear! The Circuit that builds my Victory!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least 3 Block Mob monsters! I now set Iron Golem, Blaze and Link 2 Zombie Pigman in the Link Markers!" the three Block monster turned into blocky monsters, with Zombie's one splitting into two, those two hit the Middle Left and Right, while Blaze hit the Middle Top, and Iron Golem the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 4, Block Mob Ender Dragon!" Appearing from the Portal with a mighty roar was a black blocky dragon, its eyes were purple, and on top of its head were two small stubs for horns, its wings were dark grey for the structure with the membrane as black as its body, and along its back were dark grey spines. It was Summoned to the Left of VictoryCrafter.

 **Block Mob Ender Dragon: DARK [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅⬆⬇➡

"I activate the Equip Spell, Enchanted Block Sword!" a card appeared on the Field in his Right Spell & Trap Zone, showing a pixilated sword made out of diamond, with a purple aura around it.

"I can only equip this card onto Block Mob monsters..." he began, "And that monster gains 1000 ATK!" Ender Dragon's ATK: **3000 + 1000 = 4000**.

"Then Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can move it to a unused Monster Zone it points to on my side of the Field..." Ender Dragon moved backwards into the Left Main Monster Zone. "Then all cards in the column this card is in, except itself are destroyed!" Martian was shocked at this as Ender Dragon inhaled, beginning to create purple flames in its mouth.

"In the same column is Block Spawner on my Field, and Overlord and Ancient Ruins on your Field!" he said, Ender Dragon released its fire attack, which turned into two purple blocky fire balls and destroyed Overlord and Ancient Ruins, it then swatted its tail and destroyed Block Spawner. "When Block Spawner is sent to my Graveyard from the Field, I can add 1 Block Mob monster from my Hand..." He added his choice.

"Continous Trap, Block Dungeon - Nether Fortress, activate!" his face-down flipped up, "This card's effect would be negated if I don't control another face-up Nether card." he explained, "But you don't!" Martian said, "Wrong, well technical yes and no, as The End is also always treated as a Nether card!" he said grinning at Martian's frustrated expression.

"I can Special one of the following monsters from my Graveyard." a scroll wheel appeared before him, and he selected his choice, "I Summon Blaze!" Blaze appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone on his Field, linked to Ender Dragon.

"And now Ender Dragon's additional effect!" Ender Dragon roared, forcing Martian to cover his tiny ears holes to stop the noise. "Once per turn, when a Block Mob monster is Special Summon to a Monster Zone its points, I can make that Summoned monster's ATK become 0 for the rest of the turn!" Blaze's ATK: **2400 = 0** , "Then Dragon gains ATK equal to the difference in that monster's original ATK and current ATK!" **4000 + 2400 = 6400** (Ender Dragon)

"6-6-6400 ATK!?" Martian's grey face suddenly became pale white in shock, "Battle damage to you now, since this effect was used is halved involving Ender Dragon..." VictoryCrafter said.

"Battle! Ender Dragon attacks you directly!" Ender Dragon, flew into the air, did a loop, flew down and went straight for Martian, its wing clipped him and knock him off his D-Board. **2900 - 3200 = 0**. (Martian)

VictoryCrafter: **WINS**

Martian: **LOSES**

"AAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Martian screamed out as he fell to the floor, just being forced to log out before he hit the ground.

"Hmm, that's what he gets for messing with me!" VictoryCrafter said, not seeing the irony, as he was the one that messed with Martian first, by accident. "Wait, what's the time now?!" he suddenly looked at his Duel Disk. "1:12 PM! I'M LATE!" he suddenly activated his D-Board's thruster and shot off for his destination...

* * *

 **Den City High School, (4:35 PM)**

School was now over, with all the students now leaving the premises.

Yusaku was walking with Kasumi, Aito had gone on a head, letting the two talk more, " ***Giggle*** It was still so funny that Shima's face was like that for the entire day" Kasumi said laughing picturing the face that Naoki had, made wide jaw wide open, his eyes bulging out. "And I swear, I think I saw a fly land in his mouth" she laughed out more.

"Yeah, sure was something." Yusaku said, just listening than doing most of the talking, remembering they used to talk evenly about stuff, back then. Kasumi then stopped moving, making Yusaku stop also.

"This has been nice..." she smiled out, and looked at him. Then out of nowhere she hugged him, making him stiffen up, "Thank you... For being my friend again." she said slowly.

"Its alright..." he said slowly, slightly uncomfortable. She then released the hug, "Okay then, I'll see you later!" And with that, she walked off, before running into a sprint.

With her gone, Yusaku unmuted Ai, as most students had gone ahead, leaving him to himself. "Ah! Finally! I don't have to hear the thoughts in my data!" Ai yelled out, "Quiet! There are still people around." he said, "Fine... Still that was nice make-up reunion!" it teased.

"It was fine, but I wish I knew I was right about her being NovaStar." he said looking at the direction she went. "Ah, that problem, she didn't bring in her Duel Disk, meaning we have no prove that she is actually NovaStar. But if she didn't, then people would suspect something of her..." Ai said, "Meaning she didn't bring it in on purpose." Yusaku deduced.

"Hey! If that is true, maybe you can ask her about her hobbies! If she's skilled with a computer than she can be helpful-" Ai began but Yusaku muted him, "She's coming back." Yusaku whispered to Ai as running back was Kasumi.

"Something wrong?" he asked her, "..." she didn't say anything at the first, "Strange... Could have swore I heard else and you talking." she rubbed her head in confusion, "Oh that's a small hobby of mine, I imitate an annoying voice and have a conversation sometimes..." Ai's eye glared at him for that remark.

"Oh, are you practicing ventriloquism?" she asked, "Yeah." he lied, "So what did you need?" he asked, "Oh that! We don't have each other's phone numbers!" she brought our her phone, signalling she wanted to exchange numbers. "Alright" he brought out his phone, and then the two told each other their numbers. "Right let's see..." she entered the given number, making Yusaku's phone ring a moment later after. "Great! Try mine!" Yusaku did, and a moment later her phone rang.

"Great! So I'll talk to you later!" She then turned and ran off, with that Yusaku unmuted him. "Stop doing that!" Ai yelled again.

"And that remark hurt my feeling..." a teardrop appeared in the corner of its eye. "You'll be fine..." he said, making his way to Shoichi

* * *

 **Matsumoto's Repairs...**

Manning the counter of the store was AnDru, dressed in a simple yellow shirt and black jeans, which he was stuffed into his bag this morning for his shift today, he was also wearing the shop name tag pin with his name on it. "Right, your Duel Disk should be ready in a week." he said to a customer, whose Duel Disk screen had been cracked from a drop. "Thanks, but can I get the "3 days faster" deal?" they asked.

"Sure, that will be an extra 1,000 yen!" AnDru said, the customer brought more yen out, making a total of 2,429. 70 yen. "Right so now it should be 4 days now!" he said, inside he was frowning, as this would mean he would now take more shifts to complete the repairs, at least he would get more hours of work though... "Alright! See you Saturday!" with that the customer lefted the store.

"Since they took the 3 days faster deal, you need to come in for the rest of the rest week now..." Daichi said smug, "Fine But I'm having Sunday and Monday off then." he said, "Deal!" the two shook on it.

"Just then the bell atop of the door to the store rang. the two looked to see a man of 19 with spiky pale blonde hair with some of the spikes tipped with green. wearing a retro space invaders shirt, a grey leather jacket with fur lining on the hoodie, beige jeans, and red sneakers walked in.

"Hey Matoyia! Haven't seen you in so long!" Daichi walked over to the man and held a fist to bump, which the man did. "Hey Daichi, got anything new lately?" Matoyia asked. "Sure have! See for yourself!" with that Daichi walked back over to AnDru at the counter as Matoyia began to browse.

"Daichi, do you know him?" AnDru asked, "Oh, that's Matoyia Guriddo, he comes to the store from time to time..." Daichi explained. AnDru then watch Matoyia, who continued to browse, and then picked something off the hanging wall. " _Two Way Directional Transceiver?_ _Two ROM's for programming, Processor Chips and a Micro HD display? What is he up to?_ " AnDru thought looking as Matoyia picked those items.

"Oh Matoyia must be inventing something."Daichi said, making AnDru look at him in confusion, "Matoyia told me once that he gets theses ideas, and make prototype of them, and tries to sale them." he explained. At this Matoyia walked over and placed the components on the counter. "That will be 2,855.63 Yen." AnDru said, as Matoyia brought out that 3,000 Yen as AnDru opened the register.

"So I take it your making a tracking device of some kind?" AnDru asked, shocking the man with this. "Wow that's pretty close! Good eye!" Matoyia said, "So what are you actually making?" Daichi asked.

"Oh, well you know that recently mountain climbers seem to be getting more injured and stranded up there right?" he said, making the two nod, that was happening a lot recently. "Well, I got an idea last night, that I should make a device that emits a long range signal from small device around the person's neck, so when they injure themselves, they can activate it and the rescuer, who will have the main device, can track them down and rescue them!" he explained.

"Wow, that actually is a great idea!" AnDru said, "Oh, Matoyia, this is AnDru Plast!" Daichi introduced them. "Plast? Say, do you happen to have a sister?" Matoyia asked, "Yeah, I have a twin and an older sister..." AnDru said. "Emy is your older sister right?" he asked, "How do you know her?" AnDru asked confused. "She comes by the Café I work at before she goes to work herself." he explained.

"We talk sometimes, and I think she mentioned you once or twice, your name must have reminded me about her." he said. "Now that you mention it, Emy did mention a cute barista she met once..." AnDru said.

"Well this is nice..." Daichi said, making the two look at him awkwardly. "Well, okay then..." AnDru placed the purchased items in a plastic bag. Which Matoyia then grabbed. "Right, I'll call you if this idea takes off." Matoyia said to Daichi, who nodded and then Matoyia walked out the store.

"So what did you think of him?" Daichi asked his assistant, "He's alright, but I get this strange feeling from him for some reason." AnDru said, "Really? All I see as a grown up you!" he jokingly said, "What do you mean by that?" he asked with a soft glare.

"Matoyia is also a prodigy, just like you say you are." he said, "I am prodigy!" AnDru retorted, "True, but your not really putting that to use are you?" he asked, AnDru didn't say anything at first.

"Are you okay? You seem a little sleep deprived." he suddenly said, shocking AnDru that he noticed, "Oh yeah, I'm fine, just having a strange recurring dream." he said, not truly lying. "Well, alright, stay for two more hours today, and that will do for you." Daichi said, and then made his way out back.

AnDru then looked to the windows, where he last saw Matoyia, " _That guy was lying, that much I can tell, but the real question is, what is he really making?_ " he thought...

* * *

 **Café Haru, Basement, (6:21 PM)**

The basement was where Asuka stored some of the Cafe's food ingredients, some biscuits for hot drinks, and a deep freezer to keep some foods from going off.

And settled in a corner was a work desk, full of electronic components, a soldering station, a 3D Printer, and multiple tools, seated on a small chair was Matoyia, carefully applying the finishing touches to his invention.

"And... done!" he said, putting down the screwdriver down, and admiring his work.

What it was a small watch size device, with a small USB connector sticking out on the side, the casing, which was made by his 3D Printer was a snow white, and resting at the top, was a small display screen.

What this device actually was, was an advanced tracking system... Once programmed that is. This was his plan to find Anonymous faster, he would program it and link it up to SOL's Log-On system, the system that told them who was currently in Link VRAINS at the time, and all he would need to do is type someone's avatar's name in, and it would help him find their location, and being directly linked would prevent Hackers from cloaking their locations.

"Now all I need to do is program it, and test it out..." he said picking up the device and heading upstairs to do just that...

* * *

 **(6:45 PM)**

"I'm home!" AnDru yelled into the house as he walked in and took his shoes off. "Moms not home yet!" Emy shouted from the kitchen, making their dinner, "Okay! I'll be in my room if you need me!" he shouted back and headed up stair and went to continue what he started this morning.

Upon entering his room, he locked it, not wanting his sisters to enter to see what he was about to do... Not that!

With the door now locked, he made his way over to his bottom draw, opened it and brought out the box from before, with that he made his way over to his bed and sat down on it, turned the box over and slipped the letter out from its holding.

He then just stared at it for a while, he inhaled and then exhaled to calm himself down, " _Okay... Here goes..._ " he thought and opened the letter.

 _Dear AnDru_

 _If you are reading this, I've passed away before your 15th birthday, if so, I'm sorry I can no longer be there for you or the family, but I know, even without me around, you'll still accomplish great things. But if you miss your old man, just remember, even though we are now worlds apart, I'm still with you, within your heart._

 _And to show you just how much I love you, even from beyond the grave, I've lefted a small gift for you, a gift that I hope you'll put to good use, these cards are powerful, perfect for you to use!_

 _Good luck, my son. Love you!_

 _\- Samson Plast_

 _P.S. The combination is 3141_

"The first four numbers of Pi..." he sniffed out, drying his tears and looking over the card twice more. He put the letter down to his right side, and picked up the box, "3...1...4...1" he typed into it, hearing a click as the box was unlocked.

He then turned it upside down and shook what was inside out, at first nothing did, so he tapped the top like a ketchup bottle, making 4 Link Monster cards fall out and land on his lap, along with another letter.

"Huh? Another one?" he said, he then picked that one up and read it.

 _Surprised! You should be!_

 _I remember when you were 8, and went crazy for the new monster Type that SOL released, and as you know I worked for SOL, allowing me admin access to Link VRAINS, while doing maintenance, I discovered some powerful codes within a Data Storm._

 _So I took some samples, and after hours and hours of decoding, I was amazed at what I had found! The very same type of monster that you wanted. So after giving them forms, (which took forever...) they were done... But they broke my computer after though... I'll never see that money for that setup again._

 _Anyways, I hope you love them! They're my masterpieces!_

 _-Samson Plast_

He finished reading, and put that letter with the other and picked up the cards, and boy was he impressed with them all. "Hehe, you sure did have a thing for making good cards, Dad." he whispered going over them again.

After that he picked up his Duel Disk, and inserted the cards into his Extra Deck Compartment, a moment later, his screen showed that his Deck was updating, a couple of minutes later it was done. " _Dad, if you're watching this, don't worry, I'll make you proud, that's a promise!_ " he thought looking up at his ceiling, and then beyond that...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (11:56 PM)**

NoPlayer was just resting above the rooftops, looking for someone for an Ante Duel. "Come on, there must be someone still up at this hour." he said to himself.

Suddenly he heard a noise from below, making him look down to see an punkish avatar, just wandering down, and knocking over data bins.

"Perfect timing, now lets see what you use..." he brought his Duel Disk to face level, and scanned the Avatar quickly, moments later, info on the Duelist appeared, "Vendread, nice. And theirs skills are average, this should be easy!" he said.

With that, he jumped down and landed crouching, the punk avatar heard this and flinched then turned around and faced NoPlayer.

"Oh-h m-my gods! It's you!" the avatar stuttered out

"Glad to see I'm still as mysterious as I hoped I am." NoPlayer said, "Yes, it is I, NoPlayer, and I've come for an Ante Duel!" he declared shocking the avatar, but then-

"About time you showed up, honestly I wasn't expecting you to show again four times a week." the avatar calmly said, confusing NoPlayer, just then, before he could react, the avatar's hand was covered with red dark data mist, the avatar threw his hand out, creating a chain that latched onto NoPlayer's Duel Disk. "What!?" he said shocked.

"Perfect, and now that you can't get away..." the mist chain vanished, but the screen of NoPlayer's Duel Disk was glowing the same dark red. "I can lose this disguise..." the avatar pressed a command into his Duel Disk, making the data at his feet change, it then slowly worked its way up to reveal- "Hanoi!" NoPlayer said shocked, as standing before him was a grunt Hanoi Knight, but the green was replaced with red.

"Yes, and you fell for my trap." Red said. smirking at how he had accomplished his mission... Well part of it...

* * *

 **Hanoi's Base, (An hour ago)**

"Have you heard of the Duelist, NoPlayer?" Revolver asked Red, "A bit, he's that rumoured Duelist who goes around defeating people and taking a card from them as part of an Ante Duel. Why?" Red asked.

"I think he would be perfect for the Knights of Hanoi, so I would like you to Duel him and make him agree to these terms..." Revolver said...

* * *

"My master would like for you to join us!" Red began, "Your skills would be perfect for our goals." he said, "Not happening! I don't Duel for others, only for myself!" NoPlayer retorted, he then went to activate his defense system- "Don't bother! It won't work!" Red said, making NoPlayer halt his actions.

"There's only one way that program is deactivating, through a Duel." he said.

At first, NoPlayer was frustrated to hear this, but then he thought of something. " _Actually, this is perfect, not only can I get a card out of this Knight, but also try out my new monsters..._ " he thought.

"Very well..." NoPlayer said calmly, "But since it has to be a Duel, let's up the ante!" he said, "An Ante Duel? Is that correct?" Red asked, "Yes, So what card do you want from me..." he asked, "Oh I don't want a card..." Red said, confusing him. "If I win, you must join the Knights of Hanoi!" he declared, "But that's not how an Ante Duel works!" NoPlayer retorted.

"Actually, if you read the rules for an Ante Duel, its says, you can propose any reward, so long as its in reach of the opponent's limits." he said, "And I believe you joining can be in your limit." he said, annoying NoPlayer at that, that must have been something he ignored.

"But If I lose, I shall give you 3 Vendread cards of my choosing, which will be Vendread Charge, Anima and Daybreak! Deal?" Red said, making all the deals for it, "Fine, since its the only way to get this over with, I accept!" NoPlayer said.

"But I want this to be a Speed Duel!" he added, "That is fine." Red said, the two then crouched and sprang into the air, where they landed on their D-Boards, NoPlayer's was the one like Playmakers, but the white was black and the blue was dark red. The two then sailed off...

* * *

"Why are we still up at this hour, boss?" Pigeon asked Frog as the two were traversing the network city. "We need to find something that can make us all our money back! Now shut up and keep an eye opeennnnnn!" Frog said, but suddenly two Duelist on D-Board whizzed by, spinning Frog around in Pigeon's grasp.

"Oh a Duel!" Pigeon said, as he watched them go, while Frog began to slow down, "Ooooooh, I don't feel so good..." Frog groaned out, his tadpole having swirly eyes. "Wait! Did you say a Duel?" he suddenly recovered and asked.

"Yep! And I think one of the Duelist was Hanoi!" Pigeon said, "Well then go after them! Let's record this Duel!" Frog demanded, "Right boss!" Pigeon then took off after them, catching up to them just before they began, neither of the two had noticed the pair.

* * *

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing 4 cards each.

NoPlayer's LP: **4000**

Knight (Red)'s LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'll take the first turn!" NoPlayer shouted, Red nodded at this, "My turn! I activate the Field Spell, Machina's Sky Battle!" the card appeared in his Field Zone, depicting multiple Machina monsters flying about as explosion erupted around them. "When this card is activated, I can add 1 Machina Spell or Trap from my Deck to my Hand!" he added his choice.

"I added Machina Workshop, which I now activate!" the card appeared in the Middle Spell & Trap Zone. showing a small factory where a Machina monster was being assembled. "Since I have no monsters in my Graveyard, I can add a Machina Monster from my Deck to my Hand!"

"Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Machina Spy from my Hand!" A small air borne drone appeared on the Field in his Middle Main Monster Zone, armed with a couple of machine guns.

 **Machina Spy: EARTH, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 1000

"When Spy is Special Summoned, I can add 1 Level 5 or lower Machina monster from my Deck to my Hand." he added a card. "I added Machina Ranger, now I tribute Spy to Tribute Summon Machina Ranger!" Spy lefted the Field, and in its place was Ranger.

 **Machina Ranger: EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/** 1000

"Spy's effect! When it leaves the Field, you take 600 damage!" Spy's form appeared on the Field, and fired multiple shots at Red. Red's LP: **4000 - 600 = 3400**. "When Ranger is Summoned, I can Special Summon from my Hand or Deck 1 Level 4 or lower Machina monster in Defense.

"I Summon Hound!" Hound appeared on the Field in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Machina Hound: EARTH, Level: 3 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/** 1400 **DEF/800**

"When Hound is Summoned while I control Ranger, I draw 2 cards." he drew that many. "Then I activate Ranger's effect! Burning you for 600 damage!" **3400 - 600 = 2800** (Red)

"And since I Summoned a Machina monster, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand! Appear! Machina Rookie!" A small bronze robot appeared on the Field in the Right Main Monster Zone. armed with a small blade knife on its arms.

 **Machina Rookie: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 0

"When Rookie is Special Summoned while I control 2 other Machina monsters, I can add 1 Machina monster from my Deck to my Hand." he added his card. "Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Machina Upgrade!" the card appeared on the Field.

"I target 1 Machine-Type monster I control, and Special Summon from my Deck a Machina monster whose Level is 1 Level than the targeted monster! I target Hound" Hound lefted the Field. "I Summon Pilot!" Pilot appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Machina Pilot: WIND, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/** 1500

"When Pilot is Special Summoned, I can add 1 Machina Quick-Play Spell from my Deck to my Hand!" he picked and added his choice. "Now I activate Machina Draw! I send Pilot to the Graveyard..." Pilot was sent to the Graveyard. "I can now draw cards based on where the sent card was before, since it was the Field, I can draw 3 cards!" he drew 3 cards. "Then you take 300 damage times the number of cards I drew. **2800 - 900 = 1900** (Red)

"Then Pilot's effect! When sent to the Graveyard, I can draw 1 card." he drew another card. "Now I activate the Spell, Best Cost!" the card appeared on the field, showing a deal taking place between two people. "You gain 1000 LP, and can draw a card." Red was confused by this, but didn't disagree. **1900 + 1000 = 2900** (Red), he then drew a card.

"Since you did, I can now shuffle two cards in my Hand into my Deck." he did that, "This then lets me Special Summon 1 monster from my Hand! Appear! Machina Sergeant!" Appearing in the Left Main Monster Zone was a towering mechanical monster, stamped onto its chest appeared to be medallions of some kind, the top of its head looked like a sergeant's cap. and armed on both of its arms were two cannons.

 **Machina Sergeant: EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 2000

"Then I draw a card." he drew a card. "Ascend! The Circuit that brings mayhem!" the Link Portal appeared above him. "The Summoning conditions are at least two Machine-Type monsters!"

"Sergeant's effect treats it as two monster when Link Summoning a Machina Link Monster! I now set Sergeant and Rookie!" Sergeant became two monsters, they and Rookie turned into twisters, Sergeant hit the Middle Left and Right, while Rookie hit the Middle Bottom.

"Circuit Combine! _Machines of battle... Those who fought for what is right! Reveal yourself, and show your Might!_ Link Summon! Link 3, Machina Sentry Gardna!" Appearing in the Extra Monster Zone, to NoPlayer's Left was the bulky monster, covered in shiny chrome round armour, some parts showed vents on them. And tucked up its arms were two mounted machine guns. It's head was a single camera lens.

 **Machina Sentry Gardna: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"Sky Battle's effect! All Machina Link Monsters I control gain 100 ATK times the number of their own Link Markers!" Sentry Gardna's ATK: **2200 + 100x3 = 300 = 2500**.

"Sergeant's effect! When sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Machina monster from my Hand! I Summon Solder!" Solder appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Sentry Gardna.

 **Machina Soldier: EARTH, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1500

"Once more!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Machine-Type monsters! I set Soldier and Ranger in the Link Markers!" Soldier and Ranger turned into twisters and hit the Middle Top and Middle Right.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Machina Blue Beret!" appearing from the portal was robot of a similar size to Sentry Gardna, its colour palate was royal blue for its armour, and silver for its under parts. Its right arm was a squared plasma cannon, and the other a sharp curved blade. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Sentry Gardna, who was now also Linked to Blue Beret, Co-Linking the two.

 **Machina Blue Beret: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 + 100x2 = 200 = 2000 LINK/-2, LMs** ⬆➡

"I activate Machina Trooper's effect from my Hand!" he revealed the card, "When I control a Machina monster Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon it from my Hand!" A small brown-ish yellow robot appeared, armed on its arms were sets of collapsible claws, it Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Machina Trooper: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 0

"And then it Special Summons a Machina monster from my Graveyard, by negating its effects!" Soldier once again appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone, but lost its effects.

"Appear again!" the Portal appeared for a third time this turn.

"The Summoning Conditions are 2 Machine-Type monsters! I set Trooper and Soldier in the Link Markers!" Trooper and Soldier turned into twisters and hit the Bottom Left and Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2 Machina Scout!" Scout appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone, linked to Blue Beret.

 **Machina Scout: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 + 100x2 = 200 = 2000 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Trooper's effect! When used to Special Summon a Machina monster from the Extra Deck, I can banish it..." his Duel Disk told him the card was banished. "I can add a Machina Spell or Trap from my Deck or Graveyard to my Hand." he added a card from his Deck. "Then I Summon a Machina Token!" a small robot appeared on the Field.

 **Machina Token: EARTH,** **Level: 1 [Machine/Token] ATK/400 DEF/** 400

"Scout's effect! By lowering its ATK by a 1000..." Scout's ATK: **2000 - 1000 = 1000**. "It can attack you directly! But since this the first turn, I can't" he said, "So you were going for something else..." Red asked, "Correct..." NoPlayer said, " _Man he knows his stuff._ " AnDru thought within. "When Scout's ATK is different to its original ATK, I can make its ATK return to what it was before the change, and draw a card for every 500 points it lost..." he drew 2 cards as Scout's returned to what it was before. **1000 = 2000**.

"Once more!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Machine-Type monsters! I set Link 2 Scout and the Token in the Link Markers!" Scout split into two, and they and the Token turned into twisters, Scout's hit the Middle Left and Right, while the Token hit the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Machina Sentinel!" appearing the from Portal was robot the same size as Sentry Gardna (It looked like the classic sentinels from X-Men) Its armour colouring was dark green, with some purple at the joints. It was Summoned the Middle Main Monster Zone, Co-linked to Blue Beret.

 **Machina Sentinel: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 + 100x3 = 300 = 2500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"I know set 2 cards face-down and end my turn!" 2 cards appeared in his Left and Right Spell & Trap Zone. "And since it's the end phase, Best Cost other effect activates!" he said, "By banishing it, I can allow you to gain 500 LP and draw another card!" Red nodded at this and drew a card. **2900 + 500 = 3400** (Red) "And because you have, I can shuffle 5 monsters in my Graveyard into my Deck..." Machina Rookie, Hound, Ranger, Sergeant and Soldier were shuffled into his Deck. "Then I can draw 2 cards!" he drew cards. "You're up!" he said to Red.

NoPlayer's Hand x 6

 **Turn 2**

"Impressive, TO Link Summon four times in a turn, especially on a limited Field as a Speed Duel makes it more so." Red began, "Does that terrify you? That you see the difference in our skill?" NoPlayer asked, hoping he would forfeit.

"Not really, I think that those who try to hard to do these sort of things, and hide behind many monsters and lots of cards in their Hands are secretly scared of being vulnerable..." what he said made NoPlayer frustrated, forming a frowning face on his mask. "I hit the nail right in the head, didn't I?" Red grinned, "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card. He then swiped his hand across and brought up a current layout of their Duel. "Interesting." he muttered.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Vendread Charge!" Red said, "Sentry Gardna's effect!" NoPlayer shouted, "When you activate a Spell or Trap, by sending a Machina monster from my Hand or a monster it points to, to the Graveyard..." he sent a card from his Hand to the Graveyard, which was Machina Captain. "I can negate the activation of that card, and shuffle it into your Deck!" Vendread Charge was negated and returned to Red's Deck, which shuffled itself.

"Then I Normal Summon Zombie Master!" a small decomposing girl with dark magic covering her hand appeared in Red's Middle Main Monster Zone

 **Zombie Master: DARK [Level: 4 [Zombie/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 0

"Then I activate the Spell, Foolish Burial!" he said, "I send 1 monster from my Deck to my Graveyard..." Vendread Houndhorde was sent to his Graveyard. "Then I activate Zombie Master's effect! Once per turn, by sending a monster from my Hand to the Graveyard..." he sent Djinn Demolisher of Rituals to his Graveyard. "I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Zombie-Type from my Graveyard!" he said.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let you use Foolish Burial..." NoPlayer remarked. "I Special Summon Vendread Houndhorde!" a mutated bunch of dogs appeared on the Field in the Right Main Monster Zone, its mouths were split four ways.

 **Vendread Houndhorde: DARK, Level: 3 [Zombie/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/2100**

"Appear! The Circuit that raises the Dead!" the Link Portal appeared above him. "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Zombie-Type monsters! I set Zombie Master and Houndhorde in the Link Markers!" the two Zombie monster turned into twisters, Zombie Master hit the Bottom Left, Houndhorde hit the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Advendread Savior!" a costumed monster appeared, dressed in mostly black with some bones spikes on the legs, shoulder spikes and a bone wing on the left side of its back. And mounted onto its right arm was a sword. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Red's Left.

 **Advendread Savior: DARK [Zombie/Link/Effect] ATK/1600 LINK/-2, LMs:** ↙↘

"Sky Battle's effect! Your Link Monsters lose 100 ATK times their Link Markers!" NoPlayer shouted out, Savior's ATK: **1600 - 200 = 1400**.

""And now I activate the Ritual Spell, Revendread Origin!" he said, activating the Spell, "Not happening! I activate the Counter Trap, Machina Counter Strike!" the card in NoPlayer's Right Spell & Trap Zone flipped up, showing a Machina monster deflecting an attack.

"When you activate Spell or Trap while I control two or more Machina monsters, that card's activation is negated!" he said as Origin's card dimmed, "Then I activate 1 of 2 effects..." a selection screen appeared, "I pick the second one, which is that the card is sent to the Graveyard and you take 400 damage for every Machina monster I control!" **3400 - 1200 = 2200** (Red) "However, you take no more damage for the rest of the turn..." he said. Meanwhile Red smiled.

"Thanks for that..." Red smirked out, shocking NoPlayer, whose face turned into an exclamation mark. "There are no more cards for you to use against me! Savior's effect!" he said, "Once per turn, I can add 1 Vendread card from my Graveyard to my Hand! I'll add back Origin!" Origin was returned to his Hand. "You knew that would happen!?" NoPlayer asked shocked.

"Mostly... I can tell that you're a person who wants total control of the Field, to cover up for your insecurities!" he said, his words made a sideways frowny face appear on NoPlayer's mask at that again. "Now I activate Origin again!" this time the card was activated, nothing stopping it. "By tributing Zombie monsters from my Hand, Field or banish them from my Graveyard I can Ritual Summon a Vendread Ritual Monster from my Hand or Graveyard! Djinn Demolisher's effect allows it to banish itself as one of the tributes, regardless on its Type!" " He banished Djinn who banishes itself to be used as one of the monster tributes and Houndhorde from his Graveyard."

Djinn and Houndhorde appeared on the Field again, within the middle of them was a small pendant, which slowly opened up. " _Monster seeking vengeance! Take these offering and rise up to take what is rightfully yours!_ " Red said as wisps of blue fire appeared around the two monsters, which then consumed them, and merged together!

"Ritual Summon! Level 6! Revendread Slayer!" A monster of similar stature to Savior appeared, dressed in a black and yellow suit, with honeycomb coloured long scarf. And reaching out of its back were four bony spider legs. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, Linked to Savior.

 **Revendread Slayer: DARK, Level: 6 [Zombie/Ritual/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/** 0

"I set a card..." a single face-down appeared in Red's Left Spell & Trap Zones. "I activate Slayer's effect! By banishing a Zombie monster from my Graveyard..." Zombie Master was banished. "It gains 300 ATK!" Slayer's ATK: **2400 + 300 = 2700**. "Then I activate the Equip Spell, Ritual Weapon!" he said, placing the card into the Middle Spell & Trap Zone. "I equip this card onto a Level 6 or lower Ritual Monster, and it gains 1500 ATK and DEF!" **2700/** 0 **\+ 1500/1500 = 4200/** 1500 (Slayer)

"I activate my Skill! Malfunction!" NoPlayer yelled as his mask glowed. "When you activate a card, I can send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard to negate the activation of that card." he did that. Negating Ritual Weapon's effect" Ritual Weapon's card was negated. "Then if the sent card was a Machine-Type monster, I can apply the following effect, depending on the negated card.

"Since it was Machina Sniper, I can banish the negated Spell or Trap, and inflict 600 damage to you!" **2200 - 600 = 1600**. Slayer's ATK and DEF returned to normal from before Ritual Weapon. **4200/** 1500 **= 2700/** 0 (Slayer)

"Then I activate Slayer's gained effect!" he said, shocking NoPlayer, "Gained!? From where!?" he asked, "From Houndhorde, whose effect gives the Ritual Summoned Vendread Ritual Monster the following effect!" he explained.

"Once per turn, I can target 1 Spell or Trap you control, and banish it!" he said, "I banish Sky Battle!" Sky Battle was then banished. **2800 = 2500** (Sentinel) **2500 = 2200** (Sentry Gardna) **2000 = 1800** (Blue Beret) **1400 = 1600** (Savior).

"Battle! Slayer attacks Sentry Gardna!" Slayer lunged for Sentry Gardna, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Machina Ambush Tactic!" NoPlayer's other face-down flipped up. "I target a monster you control, and it loses 400 ATK-"

"That also won't work!" Red yelled out, shocking NoPlayer. "A Ritual Monster Summoned using Djinn Demolisher of Ritual cannot be targeted by card effects you control!" he said. Slayer appeared before Sentry Gardna, and then slashed across Sentry's chest, causing it to explode. NoPlayer's LP: **4000 - 500 = 3500**.

The force of the explosion sent NoPlayer flying forward. "And now Savior attacks Blue Beret!" Savior then charged for Blue Beret.

"At this moment, Savior's effect activates! By sending a Zombie monster from my Deck to my Graveyard..." Executor was sent to his Graveyard. "Now Blue Beret loses 200 ATK times that monster's Level!" **1800 - 200x8 = 1600 = 200** (Blue Beret) "B-B-Blue Beret's effect! If this card is Co-Linked while a Machina monster is battling, your monster loses 400 ATK for every Co-Linked monster I control other than itself!" **1600 - 400 = 1200** (Savior) "Still not enough!" Red said.

"Then I activate Sentinel's effect! While it is Co-Linked, when a monster it points to battles, that monster is not destroyed in that battle, also I take half the damage!" NoPlayer rushed out.

"Either way, you take damage!" Savior striked Blue Beret, but an energy shield from Sentinel saved it. **3500 - 500 = 3000** (NoPlayer)

"Well, look at that, that was simple to do..." Red grinned out. "I end my turn!" he said, "With it ending Blue Beret's ATK returns to normal!" **200 = 1800** (Blue Beret)

Red's Hand x 0

* * *

Elsewhere, within the network city, was Codebuster, perched atop of a high tower, his Duel Disk raised to eye level, attached to it was the Tracking Device he created, currently he was calibrating the device. "Right, its connected to SOL's log system, now I should be able to find someone within any server that SOL knows about." he said finishing the final touches into it.

He then pondered on who he should test this device on, "Hmmm..." he hummed out, " _That kid, NoPlayer might be in here, reports from when he Dueled those Duelist were said to happen at night, meaning that when he's likely in here..._ " he thought, "Find, NoPlayer!" he activated voice command, his Duel Disk reacted and activated a GPS Map of the server. A moment later, it locked onto something.

"It works!" he cheered to himself, "No let's see where you are now..." he looked at the map, "Huh? He's heading this way?" he looked down, activating his zoom function, and saw two people on D-Boards, one was NoPlayer that he could tell, the other was- "Hanoi?! What did that kid do?" Codebuster grew concerned, he then dived off the tower, and as the two pasted, Codebuster summoned his D-Board, landed and followed them...

* * *

 **Turn 3**

" _Damn it! He damaged me like that Guard did!_ " NoPlayer thought, calming himself down, "What's wrong? Do you rarely take damage? If so, then this must be messing with you!" Red mocked, making NoPlayer glare behind his mask at him. "What? Do you honestly think you can get away damage free against Hanoi? Even Codebuster and Playmaker take damage, they aren't affected like you clearly are..." he mocked more, making the masked Duelist frustrated.

"Plus, they could've easily broken that strategy you had..." he said, then frowned, "Maybe Revolver was wrong about you..." that was the final straw for NoPlayer.

"I'll make you regret saying that!" NoPlayer yelled out. "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card. "I banish Counter Strike for its effect!" Counter Strike was banished from his Graveyard. "This let's me add a Machina monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he added Sergeant. "Then I activate a second Machina Draw! Sending Machina Coastguard from my Hand to the Graveyard to draw 2 cards and inflict 300 damage per card I draw. He sent the mentioned card to the Graveyard, and drew 2 cards. **1600 - 600 = 1000** (Red)

"Coastguard's effect! When sent to the Graveyard, I can activate one of 2 effects once this turn!" he said, "I choose to send a monster from my Hand to the Graveyard, and add Coastguard back to my Hand!" Sergeant was sent to the Graveyard, and he added Coastguard back. "Then I draw a card, and inflict 400 damage to you!" he yelled out. **1000 - 400 = 600** (Red)

"Now release! The Circuit that leads to Corruption!" a Link Portal appeared above him... Only this one was different, located where the Markers would be where padlocks, connected onto chains that covered the actual portal part. "Huh? That's new..." Codebuster said, neither of the Duelist noticing him. "Arrowheads Confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Effect monsters!"

"I now set Link 2 Blue Beret and Sentinel in the Link Markers!" Blue Beret became two, it and Sentinel turned into twisters, Blue Beret hit the Middle Top and Right, while Sentinel hit the Middle Bottom, shattering three of the locks, causing them all to break. "Circuit Combine! _Souls that have been tainted! Souls that have been corrupted! And souls that will bring honor!_ Link Summon!"

"Appear! Link 3, Korrupted Soul Juiblex!" appearing from the portal was a cybernetic skeletal angel, its bones were dark purple, its joints were orange orbs and carried in each arm was a long curved blade with the hand in the middle, the sharp edge was neon blue. And its wings were made from seven parts each, and each had a scythe blade at the end. It was Summoned to Left Extra Monster Zone.

 **Korrupted Soul Juiblex: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆⬇➡

"Cyberse!?" Red said shocked, as was Codebuster, " _What is this!? A Cyberse Bargaining Sale!_ " Codebuster screamed in his head, it was bad enough that NovaStar chick had them, now this!

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Linked Rebirth! When I Link Summon a Link Monster, I can target a monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it! I Summon Sergeant!" Sergeant appeared on the Field in the Left Main Monster Zone. "Ascend! The Circuit that brings mayhem!" a normal Link Portal appeared, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Machine-Type monsters! I set Sergeant, who is treated as two monster for Machina Link Monster's Summon in the Link Markers!" Sergeant become two, turned into twisters, and hit the Middle Top and Left, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Machina Red Beret!" appearing the portal was mirrored version of Blue Beret, but its blade was a chainsaw instead, also instead of blue colouring, it was red in its place. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone, Co-Linked with Juiblex.

 **Machina Red Beret: EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬆

"Sergeant's effect! When sent to the Graveyard I Special Summon a Machina monster from my Hand by negating its effect Appear! Coastguard" appearing was a small red and white robot, on its back was an aquatic life preserver ring, and on its feet where metal flippers. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Machine Coastguard: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/0**

"Release! The Circuit of Corruption!" the corrupted Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Effect monsters! I set Link 2 Red Beret and Coastguard in the Link Markers!" Red Beret became two, it and Coastguard turned into twister, Red Beret's hit the Middle Left and Right, Coastguard the Middle Bottom, shattering the locks and chains.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Korrupted Soul Areex!" from the portal appeared a cybernetic humanoid, its skin was grey with dark grid pattern covering it all. It had some cyber armour covering its chest, head, arms, and most of its legs. Around its hips was flowing 5 piece cloth that circled the hips, and carried in its arms was a plasma axe. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Juiblex.

 **Korrupted Soul Areex: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"Another?" Red yelled, "Oh, that's nothing..." NoPlayer said grimly. " _Is he alright?_ " Codebuster thought, looking at the two new monsters, " _They've got this strange aura to them..._ " he noticed.

"I now activate Coastguard's effect! This time using its other effect! I banish it, and add a Machina card from my Deck or one that is in my banished zone!" he added Counter Strike. "I set a card." he set a card.

"I activate the Spell, Hacked Link!" the card appeared on the Field, showing a picture of a Link Monster card being hacked by exterior sources. "By banishing the top 2 cards on my Deck face-down..." two cards were banished from his Deck face-down. "I can Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard, by negate its effects!" Sergeant appeared on the Field in the Middle Main Monster Zone, linked to Areex.

"That monster must be used to Link Summon this turn, but it is treated as two monsters!" he explained, his voice going low, "Then I Normal Summon Machina Synchron.

 **Machina Synchron: EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 0

"Once again! The Circuit of Corruption!" the dark Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Effect monsters! I set Sergeant who is now 2 monsters and Synchron in the Link Markers!" Sergeant once again became two, it and Synchron turning into twisters and hit the Middle Top, Left and Bottom, breaking the locks and chains.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Korrupted Soul Graz'zt!" appearing from the portal was a black cybernetic knight, with orbs between its knee and arm joints, its visor was a single line a purple and attached to its back were four fins, the two on top were bigger, and releasing some kind of energy. And carried over its left shoulder was a huge metal claymore sword, which hummed with purple violent energy. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, Co-Linked with Areex.

 **Korrupted Soul Graz'zt: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬆⬇

* * *

"Well I'm impressed..." Revolver said as he watched the Duel taking place. "Great, even more Cyberse to deal with... Valcry gritted her teeth in annoyance. "There's something off about them..." Revolver said, "Their data appears tampered, as though someone altered them to be like this..." he said.

* * *

Areex's effect! Monsters it points to gain 500 ATK!" Graz'zt glowed in a dark aura. Graz'zt's ATK: **2500 + 500 = 3000** , "And if any are Link Monsters, Areex also gains 500 ATK!" A similar aura enveloped Areex. Areex's ATK: **2500 + 500 = 3000**. "Not only that, but Graz'zt gains 200 ATK for every monster it points to!" **3000 + 200 = 3200** (Graz'zt)

"So you have Cyberse..." Red said, sweating slightly at the sight of them all, "Not that it will help you! I activate the Trap! Vendread Daybreak!" Red's face-down flipped up. "When you control more cards than me..." NoPlayer controlled Juiblex, Areex, Graz'zt and a face-down, making four, while Red controlled Savior and Slayer, as well as the activated Daybreak. "I target 1 Vendread monster I control, and destroy all other cards on the Field-" "Juiblex's effect activate!" NoPlayer yelled out, with a laugh.

"When you activate a Trap, I can banish 1 Trap from my Hand or GY..." he sent a card from his Hand to the Graveyard. "Your Trap's activation is negated and Banished! And then you take 400 damage!" he laughed out as Juiblex swung its curbed sword, releasing an energy slash at the Trap, banishing it, the slash then hit Red, who screamed in pain. **600 - 400 = 200** (Red)

"Did you feel that? The pain? That pain is due to your own foolish in challenging me!" NoPlayer mocked harshly, " _Seriously, what is wrong with this kid?_ " Codebuster thought, "And that is what will also happen to Hanoi if they get in my way!" NoPlayer spat in with venom.

Red however laughed through his pain right then. "Ha... you take out Hanoi, don't kid yourself..." he groaned out and stood up fully, "So I guess you plan to take on Hanoi, for what? To be a wanna be hero?" he said, but at this NoPlayer began to laugh hysterically.

"A HERO!? Oh no no..." NoPlayer began, giggling madly, "No.. I play the wild card in your little dispute between Hanoi and Link VRAINS, All I do is just take cards for my collection from little weak insects!" he spat out.

"It's time to end this! Battle! Korrupted Soul Graz'zt attacks Advendread Savior!" Graz'zt gave a battle cry and its fins turbo charged, making it soar at Savior.

"Savior's effect! When it battles, I send a Zombie from my Deck to my-" "ITS USELESS!" NoPlayer cut him off. "Graz'zt's effect! When you activate a monster's effect, I can banish a monster from my Hand or Graveyard..." he banished Blue Beret. "Your monster's effect is negated and banished! And you take 400 damage!" Graz'zt sword gained even more violent energy, it then swung the blade, unleashing a torrent of energy at Savior, who was then banished, the energy continued forward, and hit Red, sending him flying and screaming in pain. **200 - 400 = 0** (Red)

NoPlayer: **WINS**

Red: **LOSES**

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Red screamed in pain as he fell, just then a beam hit from NoPlayer's Duel Disk, suspending him in mid-air, until the three cards he waged were removed from his Deck. "Pleasure doing business with you!" NoPlayer laughed out as he then dropped Red, who screamed, not before being caught in a net that latched him to the wall.

"Huh?" NoPlayer looked to where the net was shot from, and saw him, "Codebuster..." he muttered annoyed, and in somewhat fear of the hunter.

"Okay what the hell was that?!" Codebuster shouted to him, "Where did you get those monsters, and more importantly, have you been alright lately?" he asked, NoPlayer didn't him.

"The next time we meet, I'm taking you out!" was all he said, and with that, he and his D-Board disappeared, as he had logged off.

"What is with that kid, so he took damage, is that such a bad thing for him to happen?" Codebuster said, "Oh well, at least my tracking system works, now all I got to do is find Mole tomorrow." he said, and stared at where NoPlayer. "And try and help that kid..." he muttered and then logged off also...

...

...

...

Leaving only Frog and Pigeon in there.

"That was amazing!" Frog cheered out, "Did you get all of that Duel?" he asked Pigeon, "Yes boss!" Pigeon yelled out, just then Frog hugged the bird. "Yes! This means we can get a bonuses back for that data from Ghost Girl!" Frog cried out in happiness.

"Boss! You've stop my wing-AHHHHHHHHHH!" Pigeon began before then fell from the sky and face planted on a roof.

The two layed there for a while, limbs twitching in pain. "There's no time to be laying about!" Frog was the first to recover, he then picked up Pigeon. "Quickly! To the editing room! We've got some work to do before tomorrow!" he screamed...

* * *

 **Wednesday, (6:30 AM)**

 ***Beep! Beep! Beep-*** AnDru shut his alarm, sat up and stretched and relax, having gotten a full nights rest last night, " _Man I needed that Duel, it just proved to these Korrupted Soul monsters are amazing, but why was Codebuster concerned for last night?_ " he thought to himself, that last part concerned him. " _Also I can't remember what I said to him back there..._ " he tried to remember, but couldn't after a while.

"Oh well, not my problem..." he then got out of bed, combed his hair, and made his way downstairs, where his family was sitting down and watching TV.

"Morning!" he greeted them, only they didn't greet them back, as they were so busy watching TV, they didn't notice him. "Hello?" he said, they didn't hear him again, "Is something wrong?" he asked confused, "Oh my god! Did that guy just Summon 3 Link 3 Monsters!?" AnDru said with a gasp.

"Who did what-" he began, but as he stared at the TV, he was shocked to see himself as NoPlayer Dueling Red from last night, with him controlling Juiblex, Areex and Graz'zt, it then showed him laughed hysterically, and dealing serious damage to the knight before Red lost.

"Oh my god... That Duelist was insane!" Iim said, "Insane, as in mental!" Emy said, making AnDru give her a silent remark at that. "I think this NoPlayer is awesome!" AnDra said, "Sure he's tad crazy, but who isn't these days!" she added.

"Oh AnDru! Good morning sweetie!" Iim stood up and hugged her son into her bust, "Morning..." he said between her chest. "What is this?" he said looking at the TV.

"Oh, well apparently there was a Duel going on last night, and this guy, NoPlayer!" she said. "He's apparently some mysterious Duelist..." Emy said, "Doesn't look like it anymore..." AnDru said, looking at the TV as it replayed the finishing move.

" _Well there goes the rumor about me_..." he thought with a inner sigh...

End of Chapter 12

* * *

 **(Java/VictoryCrafter) (Ghost83)**

 **Skill: Respawn**

During your opponent turn, when your Life Points become 0, immediately make it become 2000, then draw 1 card, but if you do not make your opponent's Life Points become 0 during your next turn: You lose the Duel.

 **Block Mob - Blaze**

 **FIRE, Level: 7 [Pyro/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/1000**

You can Special Summoned this card (from your Hand) if you control a face-up "Nether" card. Once per turn, target 1 card your opponent controls: Destroy it, and if you do; inflict 500 damage to your opponent, but this card cannot declare an attack this turn if you do. When this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict half that monster's ATK to your opponent as damage.

 **Block Mob - Creeper**

 **WIND, Level: 3 [Fiend/Flip/Effect] ATK/800 DEF/800**

FLIP: If this card is destroyed by battle: Destroy the monster that destroyed this card, also inflict 800 damage to your opponent. When this card is destroyed by card effect: Destroy 1 card on each side of the Field, then you can draw 1 card.

 **Tough Block Mob - Iron Golem**

 **EARTH, Level: 6 [Rock/Effect] ATK/1700 DEF/2400**

You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) by banishing a "Block Mob" monster from your GY. This card cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. After this card is attacked: (Quick Effect) Return 1 card your opponent controls to their Hand, then inflict 800 damage to your opponent. A "Block Mob" Link Monster Link Summoned using this card as Link Material gains this effect: Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effect.

 **Block Biome - Cold**

 **Field Spell**

Monsters Special Summoned to the Field while this card is face-up on the Field cannot declare an attack the turn they are Summoned. Once per turn, Special Summon 1 non-WATER "Block Mob" monster from your Hand. During either player's turn: You can Shuffle this card into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Dangerous Block Biome - Nether**

 **Field Spell**

When this card is activated: Draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card. Once per turn, when you Special Summon a "Block Mob" monster: You can add 1 "Block" Spell or Trap from your GY to your Hand. While you control a "Block Mob" monster whose text list "Nether" in it: Your opponent cannot activate card effects in response to card effects you activate. During either player's turn: You can Shuffle this card into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Dangerous Block Biome - The End**

 **Field Spell**

You can only activate this card from your Hand or Deck, through the effect of "Dangerous Block Biome - Nether". This card is also treated as a "Nether" card. Once per turn: Special Summon 1 "Block Mob - Enderman" from your GY, but it cannot attack, also its effects are negated. Once per turn, if you control "Block Mob - Ender Dragon": You can draw 1 card, if that card is a "Block Mob" monster, you can reveal it, Special Summon it, then draw 1 more card. During either player's turn: Shuffle this card from your Field into your Deck, and if you do: Activate 1 "Block Biome" Field Spell from your Hand or Deck, its activation cannot be negated. You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is activated.

 **Block Spawner**

 **Continous Spell**

Once per turn, target 1 "Block Mob" monster in your GY: Special Summon that target, but negate its effects. When this card is sent to the GY from your Field: Add 1 "Block Mob" monster from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Enchanted Block Sword**

 **Equip Spell**

Equip only onto "Block Mob" monsters. The equipped monster gains 1000 ATK. Should the equipped monster destroy a monster by battle: Gain Life Points equal to half the original ATK of the destroyed monster. Should the equipped monster be destroyed by battle: Destroy this card instead.

 **Block Dungeon - Nether Fortress**

 **Continous Trap**

If you do not control another face-up "Nether" card, this card's following effect is negated: Once per turn, Special Summon 1 of the following monsters from your GY;

\- "Block Mob - Blaze"

\- "Block Mob - Wither Skeleton"

\- "Block Mob - Ghast"

That Special Summoned cannot activate its effect the turn it is Special Summoned through this card.

 **Block Mob - Zombie Pigmen**

 **EARTH [Zombie/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs: L, B**

2 "Block Mob" monsters

This card gains 200 ATK for every "Block Mob" monster in your GY with a different name. Once per turn, Special Summon 1 "Block Mob - Zombie Pigmen Token" (Level: 7/Zombie-Type/EARTH/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0) to a Main Monster Zone this card points to. Your opponent cannot target monsters this card points to for attacks, except this card. When this card is destroyed: Special Summon 1 "Block Mob" monster from your GY.

 **Block Mob - Enderman**

 **DARK [Fiend/Link/Effect] ATK/2700 LINK/-3, LMs: BL, B, BR**

2 plus "Block Mob" monsters

This card cannot attack your opponent directly, but it can attack all your opponent's monsters once each, but must start with the one whose current ATK is the lowest. Once per turn, when this card destroys a monster by battle and send it to the GY: (Quick Effect) Target that monster; equip it onto this card (max: 1), should this card be destroyed by battle: Destroy the equipped monster instead. When this card battle a monster while equipped with a monster: Double Battle damage to your opponent. Once per turn, target 1 monster this card points to: When it battles; your opponent cannot activate Spell or Traps on the Field until the end of that battle.

 **Block Mob - Ender Dragon**

 **DARK [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs: L, T, B, R**

3 plus "Block Mob" monsters

Once per turn, you can activate the following effects once each: 1) When a "Block Mob" monster is Summoned to a Monster Zone this card points to: (Quick Effect) Make that monster's ATK become 0, and if you do; make this card gain ATK equal to the difference in that monster's original and current ATK until the end of the turn, also battle damage to your opponent involving this card is halved. 2) You can move to this card to an unused Monster Zone this card points to: Destroy all cards other cards in the same column this card points to. If this card is destroyed by battle: Special Summon 1 "Block Mob" monster from your Extra Deck, ignoring its summoning conditions.

 **(Martian)**

 **Skill: "A" Infestation**

When a "Alien" monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: You can place A-Counters on your opponent face-up monsters equal to that destroyed monster's Level, then Special Summon an "Alien" monster from your Deck, whose Level is equal or lower then the combined total of A-Counters on the Field, then draw a card for every 3 A Counters on the Field.

 **(AnDru/NoPlayer) (I0-Hopeful Heart Dragon)**

 **Skill: Malfunction**

When your opponent activates a monster, Spell, or Trap effect: You can send the top card of your Deck, negate the activation of that effect, then if that sent card was a Machine-Type monster; apply the following effect, depending on what type the negated card was:

Monster: Special Summon the sent monster from your GY, but its effects are negated.

Spell/Trap: Banish the negated card, and if you do: Inflict 600 damage to your opponent.

 **Machina Spy**

 **EARTH, Level: 4 [Machine/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/1000**

If you control no monsters: Special Summon this card (from your Hand) If this card is Special Summoned: Add 1 Level 5 or lower "Machina" monster from your Deck to your Hand. If this card is sent to the GY: Inflict 600 damage to your opponent. You can only use this effect of "Machina Spy" once per turn.

 **Machina Rookie**

 **EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/0**

If you Normal or Special Summon a "Machina" monster: You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) in Defense Position. If this card is Special Summoned while you control 2 or more "Machina" monsters: Add 1 "Machina" monster from your Deck to your Hand, then gain 500 Life Points. Once per turn, declare a Level between 1 and 5; until the end of the turn, this card's Level becomes the declared Level, also this card is treated as a Tuner, but banish it when it leaves the Field.

 **Machina Trooper**

 **EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/0**

If you control a "Machina" monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck: Special Summon this card (from your Hand) and if you do; Special Summon 1 "Machina" monster from your GY, but its effects are negated. If this card is targeted for an attack: Tribute 1 other "Machina" monster you control, negate that attack, also inflict 600 damage. If this card is used to Special Summon a "Machina" monster from the Extra Deck: Banish it, and if you do; add 1 "Machina" Spell/Trap from your Deck or GY to your Hand, then Special Summon a "Machina Token" in Defense Position. You can only use each effect of "Machina Trooper" once per turn.

 **Machina Sergeant**

 **EARTH, Level: 5 [Machine/Effect] ATK/2400 DEF/2000**

If you control 2 or more "Machina" monsters: You can Special Summon this card (from your Hand) If this card is Special Summoned by another "Machina" monster's effect: (Quick Effect) Target 1 monster your opponent controls; shuffle it into their Deck, but if you do, they draw a card. If this card destroys a monster by battle: Shuffle 2 cards in your GY into your Deck: Gain 500 Life Points. If this card is sent to the GY: Special Summon 1 "Machina" monster from your Hand. This card is treated as 2 monsters when used to Link Summon a "Machina" Link Monster.

 **Machina Coastguard**

 **EARTH, Level: 1 [Machine/Tuner/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/0**

If this card is sent to the GY: Activate 1 of the following effects (you cannot activate that same effect of "Machina Coastguard" again that turn): 1) Send 1 monster from your Hand to the GY; add this card to your Hand, draw 1 card, then inflict 400 damage to your opponent. 2) Banish this card: Add 1 "Machina" card from your Deck, or that is banished to your Hand.

 **Machina Sky Battle**

 **Field Spell**

When this card is activated: Add 1 "Machina" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your Hand. Once, during either turn, when your opponent targets a "Machina" monster for card effect, that monster is unaffected by that card's effect. Your opponent cannot activate card effect's in response to "Machina" Spell and Traps activating. "Machina" Link Monsters you control gain 100 ATK x their Link Rating, while your opponent's Link Monster lose 100 ATK x their Link Rating.

 **Machina Workshop**

 **Normal Spell**

While you have no monsters in your GY: Add 1 "Machina" from your Deck to your Hand. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: Banish this card; Special Summon up to 2 "Machina Tokens" (Level: 1/Machine-Type/EARTH/ATK:400/DEF:400) then inflict 400 damage to your opponent per Summoned Token.

 **Best Cost**

 **Normal Spell**

Your opponent gains 1000 Life Points and draws a card, then you can shuffle 2 cards from your Hand into your Deck: Special Summon 1 monster from your Hand, then you draw 1 card. During the End Phase of the turn this card activated: You can banish card from your GY; Your opponent can gain 500 Life Points and draw a card, and if they do; you can shuffle 5 monsters in your GY into your Deck, then you draw 2 cards. You can only activate each effect of "Best Cost" once per duel.

 **Machina Ambush Tactics**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

Target 1 monster that your opponent controls: It loses 400 ATK for every "Machina" monster you control for the rest of the turn. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: Banish this card, target 1 "Machina" monster in your GY; Special Summon it, but negate its effects.

 **Hacked Link**

 **Normal Spell**

Banish the top 2 cards of your Deck face-down: Special Summon 1 monster in your GY in Defense, but negate its effects. That monster is treated as two monsters, and must be used to Link Summon. Should a Link Monster you control be destroyed by battle: Banish this card from your GY along with the top card of your Deck: negate the destruction of that monster. You can only activate 1 effect of "Hacked Link" once per turn.

 **Machina Counter Strike**

 **Counter Trap**

When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap while you control 2 or more "Machina" monsters: Negate the activation of that card, then apply 1 of the following effects: 1) Banish that card, but your opponent draws a card. 2) Send that card to the GY: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each "Machina" monster, but they take no more damage for the rest of the turn after this effect. You can banish this card from your GY: Add 1 "Machina" monster from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Machina Blue Beret**

 **EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs: T, R**

2 Machine-Type monsters

While this card is Co-Linked with a "Machina" Link Monster: Your opponent cannot target "Machina" monsters for card effects once per turn. If a "Machina" monster battles: Target the opponent's battling monster; its loses 400 ATK for every Co-Linked monster you control, other than this card. Once per turn, if Effect damage is inflicted to your opponent: Gain half that damage as Life Points. When this card destroys a monster by battle, your opponent sends the top card of their Deck to the Graveyard, if not, they take 400 damage.

 **Machina Red Beret**

 **EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs: L, T**

2 Machine-Type monsters

While this card is Co-Linked with a "Machina" Link Monster: Your opponent cannot banish or destroy "Machina" monster with card effects once per turn. If a "Machina" monster battles: Target that monster; it gains 400 ATK for every Co-Linked monster you control, other than this card. Once per turn, if Battle Damage is inflicted to you: Gain that damage as Life Points immediately after. If this card is destroyed by battle: Banish 2 "Machina" monsters instead.

 **Machina Sentry Gardna**

 **EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs: L, B, R**

2+ Machine-Type monsters

Cannot be destroyed by card effect while this card points to a "Machina" monster. Monster this card points to cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. If this card destroys a monster by battle: Target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy it. If your opponent activates a Spell or Trap: (Quick Effect) send 1 "Machina" monster from your Hand or 1 monster this card points to, to the GY: Negate the activation of that card, shuffle it into their Deck. You can only activate this effect once per turn. During the standby phase: send 1 card in your Hand to the GY: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent.

 **Machina Sentinel**

 **EARTH [Machine/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs: L, B, R**

2+ Machine-Type monsters

Cannot be destroyed by battle while it points to a "Machina" monster. Once per turn, when a monster this card points to battles: (Quick Effect) that monster cannot be destroyed in that battle, also half any battle damage you take from that battle. This card must be Co-Linked for this effect to be activated and resolved. Once per turn, if a monster this card points to destroys a monster by battle: Send the top cards of your opponent's Deck to the GY for every "Machina" monster on your Field, then inflict 300 damage to your opponent per sent card. If this card battles: The battling monster lose 200 ATK for every "Machina" monster on the Field during damage calculation.

 **Korrupted Soul Juiblex**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs: T, B, R**

2+ Effect monsters

Battle damage to you, is dealt to your opponent instead. You can only use this effect once per turn. Once per turn, discard 1 card from your Hand: Set 1 Spell or Trap from your GY (It cannot be activated) 1 Link Monster you control can inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent when it battles a monster in Defense. Once per turn, should this card be destroyed by battle: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 Trap from your GY instead. Once per turn, when a Trap is activated by your opponent: (Quick Effect) banish a Trap from your Hand or GY; negate the activation of that Trap, banish it, then inflict 400 damage to your opponent.

 **Korrupted Soul Areex**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs: L, B, R**

2+ Effect monsters

Effect damage inflicted to you becomes Life Points instead. You can only use this effect once per turn. Once per turn, when you gain 1000 Life Points or more from an effect: (Quick Effect) Special Summon from your GY, 1 monster whose ATK or DEF is equal or lower than the amount of Life Points you gained to activate this effect. Monsters this card points to gain 500 ATK, if any are Link Monsters, this card also gains 500 ATK. Once per turn, should this card be destroyed by card effect: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 Spell from your GY instead. Once per turn, if a Spell is activated by your opponent: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 Spell from your Hand or GY; negate the activation of that Spell, Banish it, then inflict 400 damage to your opponent.

 **Korrupted Soul Graz'zt**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs: L, T, B**

2+ Effect monsters

This card gains an additional attack for every monster Co-Linked to it. This card gains 200 ATK for monster it points to. For every 800 damage this card inflicts to your opponent as battle damage: Your opponent shuffles card in their Hand into their Deck. Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed by battle or card effect: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 monster from your GY instead. Once per turn, if a monster's effect is activated by your opponent: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 monster from your Hand or GY; negate the activation of that monster, banish it, then inflict 400 damage to your opponent.

 **Cya next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Dueling, Dueling and Dueling

"Speaking"

 ***Noises***

" _Thoughts or TV Speaking or Reading_ "

* * *

 **Tuesday, (6:23 PM) (Before NoPlayer's Duel)**

Within an abandoned building, was an advanced computer set-up, manning it was Emma Bessho, with a warm cup of coffee to keep herself energised. As she typed she thought back on she knew about Playmaker and Codebuster, the first due to a contract, the second, just curiosity.

" _Storm Access is a powerful Skill, using the data material that is created from the Data Storm._ " she thought still typing, " _A normal Duelist can't use this skill..._ _So can Playmaker do this because he has a special connection with data material?_ " she took a sip of her coffee, and d during his Duel against Revolver. " _Why does he have a connection?_ " she pondered on what Revolver said during the Duel.

" _Is it related to the incident ten years ago that they discussed?_ " she thought, "And there's that incident that Codebuster mentioned before he defeated Lancelot, is that related to the same incident that Player talked about before. " _He mentioned that someone he knew suffered during this incident, if the two are the same one, what did it involve? And for what purpose?_ "

For these reasons, she was about to access SOL's central Data Banks, where only the most valuable data was stored. " _Since SOL Technologies created Link VRAINS, maybe they'll know something about it, I should find something by searching their Data Banks._ " she began to type more. " _A cyber treasure hunter like me can create a backdoor program to access the data bank._ "

At this her screen showed the mainframe of SOL Technologies. " _Almost there... I'm close to accessing the data bank..._ " she typed more furiously as she began sweat. She travelled further and further in until- "I did it!" she cheered, looking at the orb of data before her, but then it began to fall apart, and spin into a twister. "Data Storm!? Inside SOL!" she got out shocked, "Just when I'm close to accessing the data bank!" this small set back would not halt her in her pursuit of her goal though!

She then began to type even more furious as before, but the longer she took

* * *

 **Mars's Apartment, (same time)**

"Ha! Whoever that was, I own them one." Mars said, wearing simple black jogging bottoms and a shirt, seated before his set-up which showed a back door program, into SOL's Data Banks, which he copied from whoever else was hacking into it. Just then a small ROM Disc ejected itself from his computer's hardware, which he then held in his fingers. " _Finally... I have a way into SOL's data banks_ " he thought smiling as he held the disk. " _Now I can access the Data Bank where I see fit, my first trip, get what I need to begin my mission to shut down SOL, and bring them to Justice!_ "

He then pictured his father, " _Don't worry father, they'll pay for what they did to you... Even though you helped Kogami fund the project, they didn't need to do that to you._ " he held the disc lower and looked down at it.

Even though he had this now, it was still to risky to do anything with, as with his knowledge of 2 years of the company, this Data Bank was the most protected, so much even Hanoi left it alone. " _That won't stop me though..._ " he declared, "Maybe If can get someone else to do the grunt work of infiltration..." and he had just the man for the job...

* * *

 **SOL Technologies, Security, Wednesday, (10:01 PM)**

"Hahaha! Oh how I've missed this position..." Kitamura sighed, having spun around in his chair. The Operators were all sad that he was back, they already missed Akira and his fair treatment, and now- "Okay you moochers!" he yelled out to them.

"Since I've taken my rightful position back from Akira. I shall be using you for my project to make Link VRAINS even better!" he said, "But I thought your AI Duelist project was destroyed by that Hanoi Knight, Talon?" one operator dared to speak out.

"Moron! If you were smart enough like me, you would know that the original AI-A, was stored away, meaning we can work on additional AI's from its coding! Just for that, your next pay check will be 40% less!" he said, making the questioning operator looked shocked.

"Now let us begin! We've got a lot to do, not only do we have that to do, but we must do a better job than Akira at retrieving the Ignis from Playmaker!" he demanded, "I shall not allow that hunter, Codebuster to get it, and take all the credit for it! Since Akira hired him, they may give him back his position if they think I'm incompetent!"

"This project must succeed in protecting Link VRAINS from hackers! Got that!?" he yelled out, making them nod, "Good, now let's begin!" he said, forcing the Operators to begin making more prototypes of the original AI Duelist.

"Now onto dealing with Codebuster, he may get to Playmaker before me, meaning my chances of a promotion for getting the Ignis are slim..." he mumbled to himself, just then he gained is twisted grin at the idea he just cooked up. "But he won't be able to if he's too busy!" he gleefully said...

* * *

 **Link VRAINS, (An hour later)**

Travelling the virtual desert, on a high-tech Tron like motorcycle, which was created by the owner, Codebuster, his visor's a darker shade to block the digital sun's rays from his eyes. He would've been using his D-Board, which was faster travel, but there were no Data Storms that reached out this far.

He looked down at his vehicle's map display, and saw that he was closing in on his co-ordinates, he looked up to see he was closing in on the bottom of rock cliff, and pulled his bike over with a skid and hit the brakes, cutting the engine and disembarking from it, returning the bike back into data for later use.

He then walked calmly up to wall before him, and looked around, a few moments of searching, he found it, a small bar with an interface lens, camouflage like the rock itself was there. Upon finding it, he showed his Duel Disk to its, causing data to beam into the lens.

" _Access granted, welcome Codebuster, to the Hunter's Lounge_ " an AI said, as a beam of light appeared on the wall around the interface in the shape of a large door, making the entire cut to light up and disappear, leaving a tunnel of stairs in its wake, which Codebuster then walked into...

* * *

 **Hunter's Lounge...**

Inside was rather classy, it was designed like that of an old fashion salon bar, seated upon the many table littered about the place where tough looking bounty hunters, who were either playing poker, drinking digital drinks, which affected their real bodies' brain receptors, to make it more realistic, and some were watched the fake digital stripper that were dancing.

Walking along, having just entered from the stair well, was Codebuster, who was getting plently of looks from the seated hunters, he didn't even look them in the eye as he made his way to the bar.

"You heard from Mole recently?" he asked the bartender, who turned around, showing he was a tall scar covered man, cleaning a large drinking mug, "Oh, its you Codebuster..." he gritted out, not a fan of his, not many people in this lounge were, before he came along, it was all fair game with one another, now, they were lefted with the crap contracts.

"Yes, I know you hate me..." he then turned to them all, "All of you..." he added, "So onto my question." he looked back at the bartender, "Have you seen Mole? My tracking system told me he had shown up here earlier..." he said, this was the only reason he was here, as Mole tended to come here.

"He was here a while ago, but then he lefted." the bartender kept cleaning the mug, not even looking at the hunter. "Why do you ask? You here looking to bring him in? If so then, you know the-" "I know, I'm not allowed to drag business in here." Codebuster said, "I'm looking for him, because I want to hire him for something." he said.

"What's the job? Maybe I'll pass on the request." the bartender said, this time looking at him, "That is none of your business, just tell him, that I shall pay him nicely..." Codebuster said, then generated a sphere of data, "If he's interested, tell him to come to this location, alright?" he handed the data over to the bartender, who looked at him, and then shrugged with a nod.

"Thank you..." he then lefted, going back out the way he came in. Getting the same stares as he lefted, as soon as he walked up the stairs, every single hunter's Duel Disk went off, "Oh looks like we've got jobs boys!" one of them said, dressed as a cowboy.

They then all brought up the info... before becoming shocked at what the contract was...

* * *

Outside, Codebuster was just about to reeve his bike's engine- "Hold it you!" he suddenly stopped, and looked back as he watched almost every hunter that was down there before came rushing out.

"What do you want?" he asked, "You ain't going anywhere, at least not without payment..." the cowboy hunter said, who was called Outlaw. He then brought up a poster that showed Codebuster.

 _Target: Codebuster_

 _Objective: Duel him and win! (bring me his Cyberse Deck to confirm reward)_

 _Reward: 150,000 Yen_

 _Contractor: Kita-_

"With this contract, you're a wanted man!" Outlaw grinned out, removing the poster. At first all Codebuster did was stare at him, "Yeah, that's not happening..." he then looked forward and began to rev his engine. "Wow, I honestly thought you were tough, but if you're turning down a Duel, then you're no Duelist!" Outlaw spat out, just as Codebuster made to ride off, he suddenly hit his brakes.

He then looked back at Outlaw, "What was that?" he asked serious, "Did you not hear me?! I said, you're not a real Duelist! All you are is a big chicken!" he said then laughed making the others laugh with him.

Codebuster glared at the lot, then got off his bike, "Fine, you want to Duel? Lets!" he armed his Duel Disk.

"Glad you see it our way." Outlaw said, "Don't worry boys, once I bet this bastard, I'll pay for the next round!" he said, making the hunters cheer, while Codebuster rolled his eyes.

"DUEL!" the two shouted, drawing 5 cards each.

Outlaw's LP: **4000**

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"I'm going first!" Outlaw said, "I'll start by Normal Summoning Magical Musketeer Starfire!" a female purple demon, dressed in a teal flamenco and black cloth on her upper body appeared, her mouth was concealed by the same material. Under her dress were multiple belt strapped to her legs, strapped near her upper thighs were two Derringers. She was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Magical Musketeer Starfire: LIGHT, Level: 4 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 1700

"Then I end my turn!" he said, smirking as he looked as his hand.

Outlaw's Hand x 4

 **Turn 2**

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card. "I activate the Continious Spell, Replacement!" he began. "I activate the Counter Trap, Magical Musket - Last Stand, from my Hand!" Outlaw revealed the card as it appeared in his Middle Spell & Trap Zone. "I can activate Magical Musket Spell and Traps from Hand due to Starfire's effect!" he explained.

"Last Stand's effect! When you activate a Spell or Trap while I control a Magical Musket monster, I can negate the activation of that card and destroy it!" he said as Replacement was negated and destroyed. "Then Starfire's effect! When a Spell or Trap is activated in the same column at it, I can Special Summon from my Deck, 1 Level 4 or lower Magical Musket monster in Defense!" a card appeared from his Deck.

"I Summon Magical Musketeer Doc!" a wild western doctor wielding a sniper rifle appeared in Outlaw's Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Magical Musketeer Doc: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Fiend/Effect] ATK/** 1400 **DEF/1200**

Outlaw began to chuckle, "Do you see what will happen? All Magical Musket monsters share the same effect, meaning I have the element of surprise against you!" he laughed, while Codebuster just rolled his eyes at him, but he didn't see.

"So surrender now, and I won't make this look bad for you." he said. "No thanks!" Codebuster said unfazed.

"Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Weirdware Cloaker from my Hand!" Cloaker appeared in his Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Cloaker: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 800

"Then I can add a Weirdware Spell or Trap from my Deck to my Hand..." he added his choice. "Then I Normal Summon Weirdware Spawner!" the blocky Weirdware monster appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Spawner: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/600 DEF/** 200

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" the Link Portal appeared above him. "The Summoning Conditions is one Level 3 or lower Weirdware monster! I set Cloaker in the Link Markers!" Cloaker turned into a beam of energy, and hit the Middle Bottom Marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Plug-Charge!" Plug-Charge appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, linked to Spawner.

 **Weirdware Plug-Charge: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/400 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Plug-Charge's effect makes it gain ATK equal to the original ATK of the monster linked to it." Plug-Charge's ATK: **400 + 600 = 1000**. "Like that's going to help!" Outlaw laughed out. "Spawner's effect! When linked to a Weirdware monster, I can Special Summon a Weirdware Token in Defense!" a small node Weirdware Token appeared in the Far Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Token: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Token] ATK/** 0 **DEF/0**

"Once more!" the Link Portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are two Weirdware monster with the same Level!" I set Spawner and the Token in the Link Markers!" the two monster turned into beams of energy, and hit the Middle Left and Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Weirdware Scale Balancer!" appearing from the portal was a median sized cybernetic monster, its arms and legs were detached from its main body, kept in place by electro-magnetism. It body was red one half, the other blue, around this was black metal cylinder band, attached on either side was a magnetic ball, which connected its arms.

The arms held a similar ball at the joint on each arm, these balls were surrounded by a ring, one was red and faced the blue side of the body, and the other was blue and faced the red side, surrounding it was a black arm, at the top was a small flatish claw, each had a colour resting in the middle, one red, the other blue, and the actual arms were flat sword like arms, the middle filling was a silver metal and they had small black round fingers at the ends. It legs were simply the same as the elongated parts, but attached at the end was a small joint, and mounted in the middle was another set of metal balls. It rotated its arms around its body at it appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Plug-Charge.

 **Weirdware Scale Balancer: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1500 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅➡

"Spawner's effect! When used to Link Summon a Weirdware Link Monster, I can Special Summon 2 Weirdware Tokens!" two more of the Tokens appeared, one in the Middle Main Monster, and the other in the Far Right Main Monster Zone, both linked to Scale Balancer. "Plug-Charge's ATK changes again!" **1000 = 1900** (Plug-Charge)

"Appear!" two Link Portal appeared, "The Summoning condition for the first is one Level 1 Weirdware monster! The other is 1 Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster! I set 1 of the Tokens in each portal's Link Markers!" the two Tokens, turned into energy, the first portal had its Middle Left Marker hit, and the send had its Middle Right one hit, both turning red.

"Circuits Combine! Link Summons! Link 1 Weirdware Bomb Sweeper and Link 1 Weirdware Ad-Burner!" two small monster appeared, the first was Bomb Sweeper, who was a simple small light green flat drone, its main body was ring shaped with a near flat dome at top, with vents around the outer part, sucking in air to make it hover. On either side were two wings, reached housed another hover ring in the centre of the wings. Atop of the dome on its, was a small turret, this was its actual main body, as their was a small green sphere for its chest, and its arms were two cylindrical gun champers, at the ends were three glowing dots in a triangle formation. Its head was a simple think disc, the upper part housed a small screen with a single small red dot for an eye.

The second was Ad-Burner. Who was crimson coloured, its lower body was a cone shaped, sticking out at the bottom were four black hexagon panels as footing. It body was a rotating turret, with two chamber barrel mounted to front and spaced apart, between them was some grey metal, with some orange trails of energy going between them. Located at the back with two rods, with metal rings on the sides of them that faced upwards, and its head was cone shaped also, the front had downwards lines for its vision, it was blue.

Bomb Sweeper was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, and Ad-Burner to the Far Right Main Monster Zone, both Co-Linked with Scale Balancer who was in the middle of them both.

 **Weirdware Bomb Sweeper: WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/200 LINK/-1, LMs:** ➡

 **Weirdware Ad-Burner: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/600 LINK/-1, LM':** ⬅

"Now I activate the Field Spell, Weirdware Restoration Plant!" the Field Spell appeared in his Field Zone. "Ad-Burner's effect!" four of Ad-Burner's rings glowed orange. "Each time a Spell or Trap is activated, you take 100 damage for every Weirdware monster I control!" Outlaw was shocked as four trails of plasma from Ad-Burner launched into the air and exploded upon impact as they fell near him. Outlaw's LP: **4000 - 400 = 3600**.

"Restoration Plant's effects gives Weirdware Link Monsters 500 ATK for each monster linked to them!" **1900 + 500 = 2400** (Plug-Charge) **1500 + 1000 = 2500** (Scale Balancer) **200 + 500 = 700** (Bomb Sweeper) **600 + 500 = 1100** (Ad-Burner).

"Then I activate the Continious Spell, Weirdware Unlimited Code!" he said as the card appeared, "Ad-Burner's effect once more!" **3600 - 400 = 3200** (Outlaw) "I'm going to make this quick! Battle! Scale Balancer attacks Doc!" Scale Balancer began to rotate its arms, one clock-wise, the other anti clock-wise. It then charged at Starfire.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Magical Musket - Cross Domination-" Outlaw began, "Bomb Sweeper's effect! When you activate a Spell or Trap while the monster linked to it battles, that card's effect is negated, then shuffled into your Deck." Codebuster explained. Cross Domination was negated and shuffled into Outlaw's Deck, "When a card is shuffled into your Deck while Bomb Sweeper is Co-Linked, I can add a Weirdware card from my Deck to my Hand." he added his choice.

"At this moment, I activate Ad-Burner's effect!" Ad-Burner's Link Marker glowed. "When the monster its linked to battles, I can destroy the monster its battles immediately!" Outlaw was shocked to hear this, Ad-Burner began to charge plasma between its chambers, a small sphere appeared, it then took aim at Doc, and fired a red hot beam that vaporised the monster.

"Ha! You just wasted an attack!" Outlaw laughed out, even though his monster was destroyed. "Wrong! Scale Balancer can declare a second attack!" his opponent explained, shocking him. "Now attack Starfire!" Balancer then changed its direction, and took aim at Doc. "And now for its effect! During either Battle Phase, I can activate its effect depending on the number of monsters linked to it!"

"When linked to one monster, your monster that it battles loses ATK equal to half its original ATK!" Starfire's ATK: **1300 - 650 = 650**. "And when linked to two monsters, Balancer gains ATK equal to its original ATK!" **2500 + 1500 = 4000** (Scale Balancer) "4-4000!" Outlaw screamed in fear as Balancer brought its rotating arm down upon Doc, and sliced the monster in two, causing it to burst into particles, the resulting shockwave sent him flying. "Ahhhhhhhh!" **3200 - 3350 = 0** (Outlaw)

Codebuster: **WINS**

Outlaw: **LOSES**

The moment he hit the ground, he was out cold, "Right, with that over-" Codebuster began to turn around. "HOLD IT!" another bounty hunter shouted, making him halt and look back at them. "You may have defeated him with OTK, but you've still got us to deal with!" they said, with each one arming their Duel Disks.

Codebuster just stared at them, before sighing...

* * *

"Perfect Precision! Attack him directly!" Perfect Precision aimed its rifle arm at the opponent, and immediately blasted him, making him fall over as his LP hit 0...

* * *

"Cyber Dragon Nova destroy that Armed Dragon LV 7!" Cyber Dragon Nova, whose ATK was 4200, due to using its effect to tribute a Cyber Dragon, instantly destroyed an Armed Dragon LV 7, taking the rest of his opponent LP...

* * *

"Rewire, finish him!" Rewire charged its Teravolt Discharge attack, and launched at his defenceless opponent, electrocuting them, and making them twitch as they fell over...

* * *

"Cyber Nexus Dragon's effect! When it destroys a monster, a monster it points to gains ATK equal to that destroyed monster's ATK!" Proto Cyber Dragon, who was linked to Nexus Dragon gained 1400 ATK from the third copy of Mother Grizzly. "Then Proto Cyber Dragon will attack you directly!" the miniature Cyber Dragon charged a small, but powerful beam at his opponent, ending the Duel...

* * *

 **(20 Minutes later)**

"Had enough?" Codebuster asked, standing around all the knocked out Bounty Hunters, some were either lying face down, on their backs, twitching, and had some serious burns across them. "Yes..." they all groaned at the same time.

"Good, now I'm off..." he then hoped onto his bike and drove off, leaving them to pick themselves up...

* * *

Watching from his chair in the Security Room, Kitamura was beyond shocked at what he witness, the operators impressed by it. "He... He just took them all out..." he muttered in shock. "There goes that plan..." one operator said, they then began to resume their work on more AI Duelist.

Suddenly, Kitamura got a phone call, "Hello?" he asked having answered the phone, "Seriously Kitamura? Is that the best you could do?" Codebuster said from the other side, still driving away.

"I-I-I don't know what you mean!" he said sweating, "Oh please, only someone as incompetent as you would hire D-Class Bounty Hunters, next time, go for something higher!" he said. "You listen here you! Do not get in the way of my promotion- I mean our company's future!" Kitamura yelled angrily.

"But I was hired by your company to bring you the Ignis, are you saying you don't want it now?" Codebuster said, "I think Knight would think differently, let's ask him." he said, making Kitamura go pale, if Knight or the others, especially Queen, found out he just wasted some of their funding on this Bounty, he was going to lose his job!

"L-L-Let's not bring him or the others into this! Shall we?!" he asked meekly, "That's what I thought... Later!" Codebuster then ended the call, just then Kitamura quickly brought up the contract, and retracted it.

"There's goes making him pay..." he sighed out. "But..." he then smiled, "I had that Duel recorded, meaning I can improve my AI Duelist using that data!" he smiled at the thought to that...

* * *

 **Den City Studio's Virtual Editing Room (12:40 AM)**

" _And that will be all for tonight's weather! Say tuned for tomorrow!_ " Forecast said waving to the screen... While the actual Forecast stood behind the avatar who was editing the recorded video. Her expression was not what it showed on the screen. "That's good, but maybe add a bit more flare?" she said, "Yes ma'am!" the avatar said beginning to make the changes.

"You do that. Alright I'm off, Cya tomorrow for my next take." she then lefted, and exited the editing room, walking past many of the avatar's who were hard at work putting stories together. She waved to them nicely with a smile. " _Argh! All these nobodies are getting to me! I need to do something to get me out of these stick_ " she thought frowning within.

She had been suck with this job for over 2 years, and she hated it! Before this she was the number 2 Charisma Duelist, but then Blue Angel showed up and defeated her in a Charisma Duel, claiming her spot and dropping her off the board completely. She then had to slowly make her way back up the board. However at the time, Codebuster had also joined the rankings, and climbed up faster than her, getting up to 4th and just staying there, she was currently 5th.

" _Damn that Codebuster, he's the reason I can't go any further, I need to defeat him first, then 3rd, and then Blue Angel, taking back my rightful place in Link VRAINS!_ " she thought, " _The only problem I have at the moment is Codebuster, its rare for him to appear at this time. So I need to find him first for this to get past him..._ " as she walked she walked past Eagle, an actual Eagle with an eye piece at a desk watching something live...

As soon as she walked past it, she walked backwards until she was standing behind Eagle, "Codebuster?" she said shocked, as Eagle was in fact watching live feed of Codebuster, on his D-Board. "How are you watching this?" she asked the bird. "Oh Forecast, didn't see you there." Eagle said looking back at her. "And to answer your question, this feed is from my personal drone, which just caught sight of Codebuster coming from the desert sector." he said.

"Where is he now?" she asked politely, this was her chance. "Let's see... I think he's heading through DC-23 through 28..." he said, "Why do you ask-" he looked behind him, only to find that she was gone, confusing him...

* * *

 **(10 Minutes later)**

Codebuster was looking at his Duel Disk, using his new tracking function. "Where are you Anonymous? You're bound to show up and do whatever you need to do with that Data you stole..." he said, keeping an eye on the screen, and watching where he was going to avoid a crash.

"Hey there!" a voice yelled to him, snapping him out of his focus, he looked behind him to see, "Forecast?" he said as in fact behind him on her own D-Board was Forecast, "That's me!" she said sweetly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, looking back at his tracking system. "Oh Codebuster, I thought you would've known..." she playfully said, "I'm here to challenge you for your Charisma ranking!" she declared, making him look at her in shock. "Are you kidding me!? Right now!? I'm kind of in the middle of something!" he said.

"Yes right now! Ever since climbing my way back up the rankings, you been an obstacle that I didn't want to past, but now the time is over!" she said, "I need to defeat you, so I can move forward and take my spot back from Blue Angel!" she said.

" _Blue Angel, I wonder how she's been doing?_ " he thought, there hadn't been any more sighting of her ever since her defeat by Playmaker's Hand... He slowly frowned, as that then reminded him that it was technically his fault she was involved with Hanoi. "Are you okay?" Forecast asked, veining concern, all she wanted was her Duel.

"Yeah..." he said, "Look, since I've officially declared my challenge to you, you can either take it, and Duel me, or you can forfeit it, and I can immediately take your spot." she said, "You look like you don't want this to happen, so why don't you-" "No way! I never back down from a challenge, even if its inconvenient." he cut her off.

"Great! Just let me make this official to the city!" she brought her Duel Disk to eye level, "Activate Live Feed!" she voice commanded, making several drones appear around her...

* * *

 **Den City High School...**

Currently still in their lesson was Yusaku, Kasumi and Naoki, the first was just staring at the board as the teacher droned on. Kasumi was taking notes, and Naoki was on his notepad as usual watching Link VRAINS.

"Seriously Shima, why are you always on that thing? You should be taking notes." Kasumi whispered to Naoki, "Try telling that to Yusaku!" he said a bit louder, staring at Yusaku with a glare. "The difference between us, is that I already know this stuff, where as you could benefit from it instead of wasting your time watching Duels all the time." Yusaku retorted, not even looking at him.

"Why you- ***Ping*** Huh?" Naoki was interrupted, as his notepad got a notification, "Hold on, what did I get?" he tapped it, after reading his eyes went widen with joy. "Forecast just challenged Codebuster for his ranking!" he said quietly , but fill of energy, making Yusaku alert at this. "Codebuster, he was that guy that tried to snipe Playmaker, isn't he?" Kasumi said with glare, not liking the hunter for that. At this Yusaku looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah, and its about to start!" he said smiling, pushing his face as close as he could to his screen, "Well, I think I've made enough notes for today." she said, and then activated her notepad. "Do you want to watch the Duel to Yusaku?" she asked getting a tad closer to him, "Sure." he said, and moved closer to her until their shoulders accidently touched, making her blush slightly at the contact, and look away from him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine! Lets just watch the Duel, shall we?" she stuttered out. Then two then watched, also lower down was Aito, who was also about to watch Duel, seeing that Naoki, even though he whispered it, was still loud enough. Even AnDru, AnDra and Ayano were watching, as was most of the class.

* * *

"Speed Duel!" the two Duelist shouted, drawing 4 cards each other.

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

Forecast's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Okay everyone watching!" MC yelled, "We've got a spectacle of a match for you today!" he said, making the crowd outside in the plaza to stop and watch, "We've got the lovely weather girl with a smile always on her face! Forecast! Ranked 5th in the Charisma Duelist!" he said as the screen showed Forecast waving the camera, it then panned over to Codebuster, "Versus! The Bounty Hunter, Codebuster! Ranked 4th!" Codebuster glanced at the camera and nodded with a two finger wave. "Forecast has challenged Codebuster for his ranking. Will she be able to do it?! Let's find out!" he finished.

"I'll take the first turn!" Codebuster said, "I activate the Continous Spell, Weirdware's Exchange Protocol!" the card appeared in the Middle Spell & Trap Zone, showing an image of two Weirdware monsters, divided by a line between them, with two arrows going clockwise to the other. "Once per turn, I can send a Weirdware card from my Hand to the Graveyard and add 1 Weirdware card from my Graveyard or Deck with a different name!" he sent a monster to the Graveyard, then added his card.

"Then I Summon Weirdware Downloader!" Downloader appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Downloader: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"When Downloader is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Weirdware from my Hand! I Summon Weirdware Tether!" A small golden four legged turtle monster appeared, its shell was shaped as a classic UFO, its frame was golden, its legs were chrome, round and bulky, and its head was tucked in, showing a single red dot for an eye. And sticking out as its tail was a long crane cable tail with a claw on its, the underside showed a closed seal. It was Summoned to the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Tether: EARTH, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1400 **DEF/** **1600**

"Tether's effect! When Summoned, I can Special Summon from my Graveyard a Weirdware monster!" a seal under Tether opened, showing a light funnelling down, and causing a dark portal to appear, its tail released its cable to sank into the portal. "I Summon Duo-ble!" Duo-ble appeared from the portal attached onto Tether's cable. It then placed itself in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Duo-ble: FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 600

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" the Link Portal appeared before him. "The Summoning Conditions are 3 Weirdware monsters whose Levels equal 7 or more! I Set Duo-ble, Tether and Downloader in the Link Markers!" the three monsters turned into energy of their attribute colour, Downloader hit the Middle Bottom, Tether the Middle Right, and Duo-ble the Middle Top, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Weirdware Override!" dropping out of the portal was a tall humanoid cyber mech, its armour was crimson, however, its arms, legs, and chest and back were barren of any armour, exposing its circuitry which was glowing orange. Its head was a visor and had a mouth guard. It was Summoned the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Left.

 **Weirdware Override: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆➡⬇

"Override's effect! When first Link Summoned, it gains effects depending on the combined Level of its Link Material, until the end of the Duel!" Suddenly armoured pieces appeared over Override's exposed parts, electricity from the exposed parts latched onto them, drawing them near them, they clicked into place with metal latches. Now Override had two mounted folded up energy swords. Its legs now had small thrusters on the sides, and attached to its back were two mounted barrels chambers that rested over its shoulders. Its visor glowed, processing its gained armoured capabilities.

* * *

" _Since it got all its exposed parts, I'm guessing it gained all its effects._ " AnDru thought, then groaned, having had a minor headache since waking up today.

* * *

"I place a card face-down and end my turn." a single Set card appeared.

Codebuster's Hand x 0

 **Turn 2**

" _Right, time to start my way back to the top!_ " Forecast thought "My turn! I draw!" she drew her card. "I Normal Summon The Weather Painter Snow!" A small fairy girl, dressed in winter clothing, on her back were two wings shaped like the ends of snowflakes. She was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **The Weather Painter Snow: WATER, Level: 3 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 2200

"Snow's effect! When Normal Summoned, I can place a Weather Spell or Trap from my Deck face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone! I Place the Continous Spell, The Weather Cloudy Canvas!" the mentioned card was added to her Hand, which she then placed in her Middle Spell & Trap Zone.

"When this card and the Weather monster are in the same column, Snow gains this effect! By banishing it..." Snow was banished, "I can target 1 monster on the Field, half its ATK, but it can attack directly for the rest of the turn." she said, "I target Override!" Cloudy Canvas began to blow out a freezing cloud, which covered Override, after it was gone, most of Override was covered in a thick layer of ice. Override's ATK: **2500 = 1250**.

"I activate the Spell, Double Summon! I Normal Summon once more! I Summoned The Weather Painter Sun!" A fat jolly man, dress in red clothing appeared, holding a paint holder, and a orange glowing brush. He was Summoned the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Override above it.

 **The Weather Painter Sun: FIRE, Level: 3 [Fairy/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 400

"I Set two cards cards..." two cards appeared face-down, "Battle! Sun attacks Override! Sun's brush glowed stronger than before, forming a small star of heat. He then lobbed it at Override, who braced itself as the small star hit, "Wow! That was easy! I should've Dueled you..." she said, but stopped as she noticed that Override was still standing there, but it was scuffed up. Codebuster's LP: **4000 - 350 = 3650**.

"I activated the Trap, Weirdware Damage Repairs" his face-down card was flipped up. showing a recovering Rewire, who was dented, damaged and covered with burns, resting against a wall while other smaller Weirdware monsters climbed around it and fixed the damages. "I activated it when you attacked a Weirdware monster. That monster survived the attack!" he explained.

"And since I took damage from that battle, I can Special Summon a Weirdware monster from my Deck whose ATK or DEF is less than the damage!" a card was ejected from his Deck, which he grabbed. "I Summoned Weirdware Respawn!" A small grey cyber monster appeared, around its chest was a small power button, which was glowing green. On its back was an exposed port. It was Summoned to Middle Main Monster Zone on his Field.

 **Weirdware Respawn: Level: 2, Cyberse, Effect, EARTH, ATK/DEF:** 300 **/500**

" _Damn it!_ " she thought he would just protect the monster, which she knew would happen, she didn't think he would also Special Summon. "I end my turn! With it ending, Override's ATK returns to normal..." **1250 = 2500** (Override)

Forecast's Hand x 0

 **Turn 3**

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card. "At this moment, Snow's effect activates! During the Standby Phase of the turn after it was banished, I can Special Summon it!" Forecast shouted out as Snow appeared in Defense in her Middle Main Monster Zone. This didn't deter Codebuster though.

"I activate Exchange Protocol's effect! Sending a Weirdware card from my Hand to add a different one from my Graveyard this time!". he sent his drawn card to the Graveyard, and added Damage Repair back to his Hand. "At this moment, the sent card, Weirdware Bit-Coin's effect activates!"

The card appeared, "When sent to the Graveyard, I can draw 2 cards!" he drew that many, and looked at them. "Then I activate Exchange's other effect! I tribute Respawn, and Special Summon Tether from the Graveyard!" Respawn sunk into the dark portal below it, and taking its place was Tether in the Right Main Monster Zone in ATK.

"When Summoned, Tether Special Summons a Weirdware monster from my Graveyard!" he summoned Duo-ble to the Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Override. "Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" the Link Portal appeared again.

"The Summoning Conditions are 2 Weirdware monsters!" he began, "Duo-ble's effect when linked to a Weirdware Link Monster, it's treated as 2 monsters! I set Duo-ble in the Link Markers!" Duo-ble split into two, and turned into beams of energy, and they hit the Middle Bottom, and Bottom Left Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Voltage Conductor!" Voltage Conductor appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Override.

 **Weirdware Voltage Conductor: Cyberse, Link, Effect, EARTH, ATK/LINK: 1600/-2, LM's:** ↙⬇

"Respawn's effect! When a Weirdware monster is Special Summoned, while its in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it!" Respawn appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone in Defense.

"Again! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" the portal appeared again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least 2 Weirdware monsters! I set the Link 2 Voltage Conductor and Tether in the Link Markers!" Voltage Conductor became two, they and Tether turned into energy, which then hit the Bottom Left, Middle Top and Middle Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Weirdware Bypasser!" Appearing was a tall bronze humanoid cyber monster, framed in some parts were dark grey metals, its joints were two metal balls fused together, connecting the arms and legs by socket joints. Its legs were thick and clunky, with 3 big toes, one at the front, and the other two on the sides. On its right arm at the wrist, was a small drill, split three ways, its left hand was a two fingered red claw, designed to crush, All over its body were streams of blue energy. its shoulder pads were spiked, and layered, black in the centre, then white, and then bronze.

And then its head, which at the top looked like a safety hard hat, mounted with 5 head lights. It's blank visor screen showed no colour. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone, Co-Linked with Override above it, as well as linked to Respawn.

 **Weirdware Bypasser: EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆➡

"Respawn's effect! When linked to a Weirdware Link Monster..." Bypasser's Middle Right markers glowed to confirm this. "Once per turn, during a turn that a Weirdware monster is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it back!" Voltage Conductor appeared again in the Right Main Monster Zone.

* * *

"That's insane! How can he do this?!" Kasumi whispered in shock, at first when the Duel started, she believe she could take him... Now? Not so much. Meanwhile Yusaku was watching intently, he needed to find a weakness in Codebuster's Dueling, if he was going to stand a chance at beating the Bounty Hunter.

* * *

"Appear again! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" the portal appeared over Codebuster again. "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters! I set Link 2 Voltage Conductor and Respawn in the Link Markers!" once more Voltage became two, it and Respawn turned into energy, and hit the Middle Top, Middle Left, and Bottom Left Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Decryption!" Decryption appeared from the portal in the Middle Main Monster Zone, Co-Linked with Bypasser.

 **Weirdware Decryption: WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2100 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆

"Holy Moly! Codebuster now controls three Link 3 Monsters! What can Forecast do to survive these menacing monsters!?" MC yelled out in shock.

"Decryption's effect! When Link Summoned, it gains ATK equal to the original ATK of 1 of its Link Materials with the lowest ATK!" Decryption glowed as its gained power from Respawn. Decryption's ATK: **2100 + 300 = 2400**.

" _Okay, I think I may have underestimated him a bit..._ " Forecast sweated as all three Link Monster's visor screens glowed eerily at her. "Bypasser's effect! For every monster it points to, I can send 1 face-down card on the Field to the Graveyard!" She began to sweat more, as she looked as her face-downs. "And because Bypasser is linked to 2 monsters when this effect is used, you cannot activate the targeted cards! Data Shakedown!" Bypasser raised its right leg, which housed a hydraulic piston, and slammed it down on the layout, causing her face-downs to go to the Graveyard.

"Then I activate its other effect!" he revealed Weirdware Outwatt. "By revealing a Weirdware monster from my Hand, I can target a monster you control, and more for every monster linked to it, and they have their ATK & DEF become the revealed monster's ATK and DEF!"

"Outwatt's ATK is 1000, its DEF 500, meaning Snow and Sun's ATK and DEF become that amount!" Snow's ATK/DEF: 0 **/2200 =** 1000 **/500** , Sun's ATK/DEF: **1600/** 400 = **1000/** 500.

"Battle! Override attacks Snow!" Override charged its thruster, and took off for Snow, "I activate Snow's gained through Cloudy Canvas-" Forecast began, notice nothing happening. "Huh?" she got out.

"When Override battles when its Link Material equals 8 or more, you cannot activate Spell or Traps until after damage calculation!" Codebuster explained as Override's folded weapons extended, creating two dark red energy swords. "Then its effect when its Link Materials are 7 or more, your monster loses 100 ATK times the combined Level of its Link Material!" **1000** **\- 1000 = 0** (Sun)

"Uh oh..." she squeaked out as Override brought its right arm across, and tore Snow in two with a clean sweep of its arm. Forecast's LP: **4000 - 2000 =** **2000**. "Oh! What a blow!" MC cried out. "What!? It can deal piercing damage as well!?" Forecast screamed out, her eyes wide.

"It can so long as its linked to Bypasser, whose effect allows it and monsters linked to it that I control to deal piercing damage to you when battling Defense position monsters!" Codebuster said.

"Then Decryption attacks Sun!" Decryption charged its water nozzles at Sun, and unleashed highly pressurised water, which hit the fiery monster, and destroyed it. **2000 - 1400 = 600** (Forecast) "And then Bypasser attacks you directly!" Bypasser's drill began to rotate, until the point that a small wind had gathered around its. "Terabyte Tunnelling!" Bypasser thrusted its drill out, which forced the monster forward, its then hit Forecast, who it slowed to a stop, and tapped her, not wanting to deal physical damage to her. **600 - 2600 = 0**. (Forecast)

Codebuster: **WINS**

Forecast: **LOSES**

"Unbelievable! Codebuster just performed a OTK against Forecast! This just proves how amazing the now Weirdware Duelist is!" MC cheered out, the crowd, having expected its to happen, had already walked off, returning to their daily lives. "H-Hey! Where you going!?" he asked the departing crowd.

* * *

Back with Codebuster, who just lefted Forecast behind in the middle on the Data Storm looked back at his screen, which showed nothing at all, "So he must be waiting it out..." he said, talking about Anonymous. "Luckily I have a way to find you even from the outside..." he then logged off...

* * *

"Well that went as exactly as I thought..." Yusaku said as Kasumi turned off her notepad, "Is he really that good?" she asked concerned, meanwhile to the side, Naoki was gushing over how amazing the last turn was. "Some say, he's either equal or better than Playmaker." he said, but he hoped that wasn't true. "Well I hope Playmaker sends him packing if they do Duel!" she said smiling at the thought of Playmaker.

With AnDru, AnDra and Ayano, they were having a similar discussion, "Boy Codebuster wasn't messing around that time..." AnDra said, not seeing AnDru nod his head weakly in fatigue. "That last turn, kind of reminded me of what that NoPlayer fellow did on the news this morning..." Ayano said.

"What did you think about the Duel AnDru?" she asked the male twin, who just heard her, and began to respond, "Well, I thought that it-" he went to look at the two, but saw a shadowed form of a creature with red glowing eyes where the girls were seated, he then immediately flinched away, blinking his eyes violently. "Are you okay, Mr Plast?" the teacher asked, as AnDru's reaction had disrupted the class, all eyes on him.

"Huh?" he said, and looked back at the creature, only to see the girls looking at him concerned, "Are you okay big bro? You've acting odd since this morning..." his sister said worried, AnDru quickly blinked his eyes, and surveyed the classroom, and saw nothing that resembled the creature he saw.

"Yeah..." he said, still looking around. "Sorry about that sir, just dozed off." he said to everyone, "Well, make sure it doesn't happen again, got it?" he asked, "Sure!" he said, with that over, the class returned to what it was before, only AnDru kept glancing around himself, " _What on earth just happened?_ " he thought, worried that something was going to happen...

* * *

 **Café Haru, Second Story**

Sitting in his chair, Matoyia groaned annoyed that he hadn't really accomplished anything today, he needed to accomplish something, otherwise he'd just waste a day worth. Currently he was making program adjustments on his tracking system. "There we go, now my Duel Disk should alert me when my target has entered Link VRAINS!" he said typing in the last commands, saving the changes he made. With this causing data to transfer into the Duel Disk.

...

"Now what?" he said spinning around in his chair looking about his room, "VR Royale? Nah! Mars is working, as is Yui, Sora and Hiroshi..." he mumbled. "Chores? Oh wait... I've already done them..." he sighed, "Maybe get groceries?" he stood up.

"It's been a while since I went outside, might do me some good..." with that, he picked up his jacket, sniffed it, and reeled back from the stench, he then tossed it in his laundry basket for later, and then picked out a nice navy blue hoodie and put on, then his shoes, and then left his room, and grabbed his car keys from the bowl in the living room, and made his way downstairs to ground level, where he ran into Asuka.

"Where are you going?" she asked, "Going out for a bit, need to cool off some time before Anonymous shows up." he answered, "I'm heading for the supermarket, anything you want picked out?" he asked.

"Hmm... I'm planning on making some pasties, so get me some ingredients for those..." she said, "Alright, see you later..." he nodded at her request, and lefted out the back door, got into his car, and drove off...

* * *

 **(13:20 PM)**

" ***Sigh*** Why did the parking lot have to be full today, I don't want to walk all the way there..." Matoyia groaned, having been forced to park on the outskirts of the parking lot, which was full, and was now walking towards it. It was only a 10 minute walk, but it looked to be raining in a moment, and he forget to bring an umbrella.

" _Better make this quick, no one likes to be soaking wet._ " he thought, walking a tad faster, but as he passed a building, he halted in his tracks, and slowly walked back to face the building. "A book shop?" he said, peering into the building to confirm this.

"There's still a book store running? Who would've thought?" he said, as in this era, most books, novels, manga and other related item were now digital, so seeing a book store was a rare sight to behold.

" _Hmm, maybe I should pick out some new books, we don't really have that many at home..._ " he thought, it was always nice to read a book a home, when he had time, however, most of the time, the books he read were all digitized onto his tablet, as most classics that he liked had their original copies gone, ruined or destroyed by the ages of time.

"Maybe I can get Aito into reading books, he may like them." he added, and proceeded to walk into...

Doji's Books...

* * *

 **Doji's Books**

"Thank you for shopping with Doji's Books!" Akane said politely to the customer who had just purchased a few popular manga books... One of which, was a bit lewd for the faint of heart.

"Akane, could you be a dear, and put these books on display, take down the others." Doji asked her nicely, while he conversed with an old friend who regularly dropped by, he patted a box of books, signalling that these were the books he wanted displayed.

"Okay Doji." she answered, walking over and taking the box and walking to the windowsill, changing the books over with the ones in the box, she notices they were quite good titles, she had read a few herself. "Excuse me miss? Can you come over here quickly?" a woman, between the bookshelves asked, "I'm coming." she said, walking over to the woman.

"Can I get your opinion? I can't figure out which book I should get." the woman held up two books, which Akane, noticed to be both romance novels. "Hmm, that's a bit tricky, I'm not one for reading romances books, but why not read both, we do have a 30 day refund system, so get both, and if you prefer one over the other, bring that one back and get a refund for it." she answered, hoping this would help.

the woman nodded, having thought that over, "Alright, I will, thank you!" she said, and then walked over to Doji, to purchase the books. Akane looked back for a moment, before turning back and walking away, to see if someone else wanted help picking... That was until she bumped into someone, the force sent to the two falling over. "Whoa!" she heard a voice cry out, a man she could tell.

The box she was carrying fell out of her arms, scattering the books about on the floor. "Are you alright?" the man asked getting to his feet, she looked up to see a man with short pale blonde hair, with light green tips on some parts of his hair, he was offering her his hand to get up.

"Oh, yes, I'm alright, sorry about that." she said, taking his hand and pulling herself up, she then knelt down again, and picked up the spilled books, he did the same, "Oh you don't have to help." she said, "Nah it's fine, it is somewhat my fault it happened, wasn't paying attention either." he said, picking up a handful of books, studying their titles.

"Say, these are some nice old books" he commented, "Are you a fan of them?" she asked, "Well if I wasn't, I wouldn't have said so?" he joked, making her giggle slightly, the two had picked up all the books, with her now holding them again, "It's Akane, Akane Yamamoto, right?" he asked her, shocking her that he knew her name.

"Yes, how do you know?" she asked confused, she had never met him before. "Oh... You don't remember... Well I guess that makes sense, the last time I saw you, you were reading a book in the corner of the Café." he said, her wondering where this was- "Oh, you were that guy that offered me a refill!" she suddenly remember from that description he gave.

"That's me! Matoyia Guriddo, at your service!" he said, giving a mock bow to her. "Well, its nice to met you properly! Sorry about that back then, I was really into the book back then." she said.

"It's alright." he said, and looked around, "Nice place here, how long has it been around for?" he asked, "A couple of decades, most other books are around the same age." she answered.

"Honestly, I'm surprised there are stores like this still around, you know with digital version of books being a thing." he said, "Well, some people like the feeling of holding the actual thing, where as holding something that hurts your eyes when looking at the screen for too long." she said.

"So do you have any genre that you like? I could help you find it." she asked, "Hmm... Science Fiction, Horrors, Thrillers and fantasy, also post-apocalyptic books are my thing." he answered, she smiled, as those were some of her favourites as well, "Then I think I have a few that you'll like. Wait her for a moment." she walked off, leaving him alone, a few minutes later, she came back, the box not with her, but she was holding 3 books in her arms. "Here!" she said handing them to him.

"World War Z, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and the Shining, wow that an old one." he said reading the titles, "But if you think they'll be good, I'll get them!" he said, he then walked over to Doji and made his purchases, putting the books into his satchel. "Thank you!" he said, she nodded as he made his way outside... But he quickly stopped and looked back at her.

"Say, I know this maybe be out of the question, but..." he began, "Do you want to hang out at some point?" he asked, Akane felt her cheeks redden a bit, but it wasn't that visible. "Sure, that would be nice, we can talk about the books you got if you've read them by then!" she said smiling. "Sure, but no spoilers from you though!" he joked, earning a laugh from her and with that he walked out.

"He sure a nice young lad." Doji commented to her, "Yeah, sure was..." she said smiling still, that was the first time anyone, other than Doji wanted to hang out with her. "My, my dear, is that a blush that I spot?" Doji teased, this instantly caused her face to redden much more than before. "D-Doji! How could you say such a thing!? I hardly know the guy!" she mumbled out, letting her father-figure laugh much to her dismay...

* * *

 **Square Plaza, (16:56 PM)**

"So this is where you come after school?" Kasumi asked Yusaku, sitting on the bench with Yusaku by her side, him having just purchased a hot dog for the both of them. "Yeah, Kusanagi is a friend of mine, he sometimes has me man the truck when he had something to do..." he explained, taking a bite from his meal.

"So that means you technically have a job." she began, "You do know that not prohibited at school, right?" she said, as per the conditions of Den City High School, students were not allowed to have part-time jobs. "I wouldn't really consider it a job, I'm simply doing Kusanagi a favour." he remarked. Meanwhile Kasumi hummed in delight of her meal.

"Man this is great! I may come here more often." she said, making Shoichi smile from the truck. "Thank you!" he shouted, shocking her that he heard her. "And of course you can come back any time you like." he added.

"I will..." she said, the two then continued to eat their meals, making idle chit-chat. "That Duel Codebuster had sure was something..." she said, making Yusaku flinch at the mention to the hunter. "Yeah..." he said, thinking back to that Duel also, "Has anyone actually beaten Codebuster?" she asked, "Apparently, Lancelot, a knight of Hanoi, mentioned that another knight, beat him in a Duel, but I think from what Codebuster said after that, is that he underestimated them, he has two decks, a Cyber Dragon Deck, and his Weirdware Deck, the latter appears to be more powerful." he explained.

"So if he used his Cyber Dragon Deck, its basically fair play, right?" she asked, hoping he would say- "Maybe..." he said, that was not what she wanted to hear.

"Oh..." she whispered out.

"Why do you ask?" he asked, but he believed he already knew the answer. "Just a thought I had, I wouldn't actually go for it, not with that Dragon of his." she said, making Yusaku think on the Weirdware version of Firewall Dragon. "If you were to go against him..." he began, catching her attention, "Try and make sure his Weirdware monsters aren't linked together, otherwise Codebuster can use their full potential." he ended.

Hearing this made her smile a bit, "Thanks..." she then finished off the rest of her meal, and got up, "Thanks for bringing me here Yusaku-kun! I'll see ya tomorrow!" and with that she took off, heading home. At this time Shoichi walked out, "She sure is nice..." he commented as they watched in the location she walked off, meanwhile Yusaku unmuted his Duel Disk.

"Ah! Finally, I can speak again!" Ai yelled out, but this caused his captor to slap his hand over him, "Ow!" it cried out, "Quiet you!" Yusaku looked around himself for a moment, and spotted that most people were either leaving the square or not paying attention to them, "The coast is clear..." he said, making the Shoichi nod, the then headed to the truck, where its owner locked up the window and closed his services for tonight.

He then headed into the back, where Yusaku was already booting the systems up. "Are you really going to do this Playmaker-sama?" Ai asked, "Yes, Ghost Girl said she has a backdoor program for SOL Technologies, if we can get it, it may allow us to uncover what happened all those years ago." Yusaku said determined.

What the two were on about was that last night, Ghost Girl managed to contact them, which they suspected was due to Shoichi guiding her into the Data Storm during the whole Revolver incident, and traced it back to them through their source code. She demanded a Duel from Playmaker, if she wins, if he accepted that his, that she would get Ai, but if he won, he would get a backdoor program into SOL Technologies Data Banks, upon finding this out, Yusaku accepted much to Ai's dismay.

"But what this is just a trap!" Ai cried out, "That's a risk that I'm going to have to take." Yusaku answered to downfallen Ai, "Hmm, Link VRAINS is still busy at the moment, if SOL is watching then they'll know what we may be planning..." Shoichi said.

"Then we'll duel later on at night, SOL's surveillance is lessened at that time..." Yusaku replied, making him nod at this, "So what shall we do while we wait?" he asked, "Hmmm..." Yusaku hummed in thought. "Maybe we should look up on Matoyia Guriddo, he's most likely to be Codebuster, now that I know Aito was a victim like me." he said.

"True, it would help if we knew more about him..." Shoichi began, "Maybe that Medusa woman as well." he added. "Or maybe you can use this time to modify your deck to help against Ghost Girl, if you going to accept her challenge." Ai commented. "That would be best, if Ghost Girl duelling is like her hacking skills, then its safe to say that this could prove to be a challenge for you." Shoichi added on.

"Alright, I'll modify my Deck, while you look up on Matoyia and Medusa." Yusaku agreed, and with that, the two went on to do their separate things until later on. "Hey! What about me!?" Ai shouted, seeking attention...

* * *

 **(22:45 PM)**

Link VRAINS had gotten more quieter as the night went on. Walking about was an average looking teenage girl, who looked like she did not belong in this crowd, as she walked by an alleyway, she immediately rushed into it, she glanced behind to make sure no one was following her, which there wasn't. She then travelled further in until she reached a wide passage.

She waited around there for awhile, about 10 minutes, seeing a couple of digital rats scurrying by, suddenly she heard footsteps approaching, she glanced around her and spotted a cloaked figure calmly walking up to her, their stature and size made her determine that this person was a man, and he also had a grey fedora tilted downwards to conceal their face.

He then stopped a few metres from her, "Are you the one that has what I requested?" they asked her,

"That depends? Are you the one that requested it? Tell me your avatar name so that I can clarify its you!" she demanded from him. "Very well, I go by StealthSpy534, I assume that's correct for you?" he asked, making her smile.

"Yes, that does mean you are the one that requested it." she smiled, and at this, her form began to change. A few moments later, standing where she was a man dressed in a brown trench coat, wearing a brown fedora hat... and the most intriguing thing about him was that his figure was completely blank, no mouth, no nose and no eyes and eyebrows.

"Ah, so this is what Anonymous truly looks like, yes?" StealthSpy534 asked, making the know known Anonymous nod, "Yes, not can we get on with this, I prefer to keep these things quick and simple." Anonymous held up a hand, which then materialised data, "Here is the data that is required from that private government data banks, now hand over the payment." he asked.

StealthSpy534 nodded and materialised some green data, "Here is a small portion of it until I get the data." he then tossed the data over to Anonymous who caught it, and looked it over.

"If that is fine, hand over the data." StealthSpy534 said, making Anonymous look over the green data for a moment, "Yes that is fine, at the same time?" he said, making the other nod, then at the same time, the two exchange what the other wanted until they were finished.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Anonymous said, about to leave. "Wait, before you go." StealthSpy534 said, making him stop and look back, "I have another request of you." he said, "Oh, and what is it?" he asked.

"This!" StealthSpy534 threw up his other arm, and fired an orange beam at Anonymous, who was too shocked to do anything as it hit him, covering him in a orange glow that then faded. " _Data beam target acquired._ " StealthSpy534's Duel Disk said.

"What is the meaning of this?! We had a deal!" Anonymous shouted, he had tried to log out as soon as the glow had faded, but found that he couldn't. "Yes... But..." StealthSpy534's form began to fizzle, and was slowly replaced by-

"Codebuster!?" Anonymous yelled out in shock, as now standing before him was Codebuster, smirking as he did. "That deal was with the real StealthSpy534, who is tied up at the moment..." he said...

* * *

Currently tied up around the bend of the alleyway of where Anonymous and Codebuster were, was the real StealthSpy534, who was also unconscious.

* * *

"While you were waiting, I found him coming, captured him and disguised myself as him." Codebuster explained. "But how did you know where I would be?" Anonymous demanded, "That would be the work of my new tracking system." Codebuster held up his Duel Disk arm, to show the attachment on it. "Led me straight to you!" he answered.

"So you got the data back, so what? Why did you capture me?" Anonymous demanded, "Yes, I did get the data back, quite easily..." he said, "But that money that I used was gained illegally, so now I must bring you in as you know hold it." he said.

Anonymous gritted his teeth at this, "Clever, that means you have prove on both me and StealthSpy534 now." he said, he then thought onto the beam that hit him, "I take it that the beam you hit me with keeps me from login out then?" he asked, "Yes, the only way to remove it is through winning a duel against me." Codebuster answered.

"I like to have some fun you know!" he added, arming his Duel Disk. "Fine! Just so you know, I'm not holding back!" Anonymous yelled out.

"DUEL!" the two shouted drawing 5 cards each.

Anonymous's LP: **4000**

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Since you forced me into this Duel, I'm going first!" Anonymous said, waving his hand to see his Hand. "I Normal Summon SPYRAL GEAR - Drone!" A small drone appeared in Anonymous's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **SPYRAL GEAR - Drone: WIND, Level: 1 [Machine/Effect] ATK/100 DEF/** 100

"Drone's effect! When Normal or Special Summoned, I can look at the top 3 cards of your Deck, and then put them in any order of my choosing!"" at this, Codebuster took the top three cards of his Deck and revealed them to Anonymous, "Hmm, 2 Spells and a Monster, I'll have the second Spell go first, then the Monster, and then the first Spell!"" he said, as Codebuster put the cards back on top of his Deck in that order.

"But now I activate SPYRAL Super Agent's effect from my Hand!" he revealed his card, "When this card is in my Hand, I can declare 1 type of card, and you must show me the top card of your Deck, If I'm right, then I can Special Summon Super Agent!" he explained.

"I pick Spell!" he said, Codebuster then picked up the same card again and showed it to him, "I'm right this time! Meaning now that I can Special Summon Super Agent!" this time a man, dressed in a black suit appeared, he looked rather handsome, he wore many gadgets on him. He was Summoned to Anonymous's Right Main Monster Zone.

 **SPYRAL Super Agent: EARTH, Level: 4 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/** **1900 DEF/** 1200

"Normally if Super Agent is Special Summon through the effect of a SPYRAL card, then I can target 1 Spell or Trap you control and destroy it, but you don't have any yet." he said, "Appear! The Circuit that shows me the truth!" the Link Portal appeared below him, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 SPYRAL monsters! I set Drone and Super Agent in the Link Markers!" Drone and Super Agent turned into twisters, shot into the air, and then down into the Bottom Left and Bottom Right Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, SPYRAL Double Helix!" Appearing from the portal was Super Agent, along with another agent, this one was taller and more muscular than Super Agent, both were decked out in gadgets. They appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Anonymous's Right.

 **SPYRAL Double Helix: EARTH [Warrior/Link/Effect] ATK/1900 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬅⬇

"This card is also treated as Super Agent, and now for its effect! Once per turn, I can declare 1 type of card, and you must reveal the top card of your Deck, I once again pick Spell..." he said as Codebuster once again revealed the top card. "Its a Spell, meaning now that I'm right, Double Helix's effect lets me take a SPYRAL monster from my Deck and either add it to my Hand or Special Summon it!" he said as he scrolled for his choice. "I Special Summon a second SPYRAL GEAR - Drone in Defense!"

A second Drone appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone in Defense. "Then I activate the Equip Spell, SPYRAL GEAR - Big Red!" a portal appeared, and driving out of it was a high-tech red spy car, "I activate this card by targeting a SPYRAL monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it!" Super Agent was teleported into the car itself. The car then parked itself into his Middle Main Monster Zone. "I then set 2 cards and end my turn!" two cards appeared face-down and faded.

Anonymous's Hand x 0

 **Turn 2**

" _Hmm, SPYRAL... that's classed as a Meta Deck, I'll need to be careful._ " Codebuster thought. "My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card, "I activate the Spell, Weirdware Uploading since I control no monsters!" he said as the card appeared in his Middle Spell and Trap Zone. "Now once per turn, I can add 1 Weirdware monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he added his choice.

"Because I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Weirdware Cloaker!" Cloaker appeared in his Middle Main Monster Zone in Attack Position.

 **Weirdware Cloaker: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1300 DEF/** 800

"When Cloaker is Special Summoned, I can add a Weirdware Spell or Trap from my Deck to my Hand." he added another card, "I Normal Summon Weirdware Downloader!" Downloader appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Downloader: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"Downloader's effect activates!" Since it was Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster from my Hand! I Summon Bit-Coin" a new Weirdware monster appeared on the Field, it was rather small, and coin shaped, within its centre there was another coin that was rotating around like a gyro sphere, within the centre of this one was a green orb which was its eye. Around the end of its first ring were small studs. It was golden in colour and was Summoned to the Far Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Bit-Coin: LIGHT, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 0 **DEF/0**

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" the Link Portal appeared underneath him, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are 2 Weirdware monsters with different Levels! I now set Bit-Coin and Cloaker in the Link Markers!" the two monsters turned into energy, shot into the air, and then down, Bit-Coin hit Middle Top and Cloaker the Middle Bottom Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Perfect Precision!" Perfect Precision appeared from the portal, and landed in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, and then readied its rifle arm, it was also linked to Downloader in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Perfect Precision: WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1800 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

"Downloader's effect! While linked to a Link Monster, all Weirdware monsters I control gain 100 ATK for every Weirdware monster on the Field!" Downloader plugged itself into Perfect Precision, empowering it and itself. Perfect Precision's ATK: **1800 + 200 = 2000** , Downloader's ATK: **1600 + 200 = 1800**.

"Now for Bit-Coin's effect! When its sent to the Graveyard, I draw 2 cards!" he then drew two cards. "Hmm, that means that the rest of his Deck is now unknown, clever, had he kept it like that, it would've worked in my favour." Anonymous said to himself. "Let's change that! I activate the Trap, SPYRAL GEAR - Utility Wire!" Anonymous face-down flipped up.

"Since I control Super Agent, I can target 1 face-up card you control, and place it on top of your Deck!" he said smirking. "I pick Downloader!" Downloader vanished from the Field having returned to Codebuster's Deck. **2000 = 1800** (Perfect Precision) "I activate the effect of Weirdware Portgate from my Hand!" Codebuster revealed the card. "Since you control more cards than me, I can Special Summon it from my Hand, along with another one from my Hand! Appear, Portgate and Trade-In!" Portgate teleported into the Right Main Monster and Recycler into Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Portgate: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 500 **DEF/1400**

 **Weirdware Trade-In: EARTH, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/** 800

"Portgate's effect! When linked to a Link Monster, once per turn, I can relocate it to one of my un-used Monster Zone, and then Special Summon from my Deck a Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster!" Portgate deconstructed itself and teleported into the Left Main Monster Zone, "And I Summon Downloader!" Downloader once again appeared in the Right Main Monster..

"Curses! That twice he's foiled my plans!" Anonymous cursed out. "Now I activate Trade-In's effect! Once per turn, I can tribute 1 Weirdware monster I control..." the dulled Downloader was tributed, "Then I can Special Summon a Weirdware monster whose Level is 1 higher or lower than the tributed monster. I Summoned Weirdware Ventilator!" Ventilator appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Ventilator: Level: 3, Cyberse, Effect, WIND, ATK/DEF: 1000/** 1200

"Appear, the Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are two Level 3 or lower Weirdware monsters! I set Ventilator and Portgate in the Link Monsters!" the two monster once again turned into the energy, with Ventilator hitting the Middle Top and Portgate the Middle Left, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Lag Buffer!" Lag Buffer appeared in the Right Main Monster, Co-Linked to Perfect Precision.

 **Weirdware Lag Buffer: Cyberse, Link, Effect, LIGHT, ATK/LINK: 1400/-2, LM's:** ⬅⬆

"I activate the Field Spell, Weirdware Restoration Plant!" the Field Spell was placed into his Field Zone, "Now all Weirdware Link Monsters gain 500 ATK per monster linked to them. **1800 + 500 = 2300** (Perfect Precision) Lag Buffer's ATK: **1400 + 1000 = 2400**.

"Battle! Perfect Precision will attack you directly due to its effect!" he ordered and Perfect Precision fired a round at Anonymous, who was too slow to react in time, "Gahh!" he cried out, having lost data in his right shoulder from the shot, Anonymous's LP: **4000 - 1150 = 2850**. "Perfect Precision's effect! Since a Weirdware monster dealt you battle damage, I can target 1 Weirdware monster, and that monster gains ATK equal to that battle damage you took! I pick Lag Buffer!" Trade-In's ATK: **1400 + 1150 = 2550**.

"And now I'll have Trade-In attack Super Agent!" Trade-In charged at the monster, and punched Super Agent, knocking the monster in the vehicle back, **2850 - 650 = 2200** (Anonymous) Fortunately for Anonymous, Super Agent survived, having been inside of Big Red. "The monster equipped with Big Red cannot be destroyed by battle." Anonymous explained. "Then for Lag Buffer to attack Double Helix!" Lag Buffer charged at the Link Monster, its bumpers glowing and uppercutted the monster, again it survived. **2200 - 500 = 1700** (Anonymous)

"Perfect Precision's other effect! When the monster linked to inflicts battle damage to you, that monster can declare a second attack for half the damage!" Codebuster shouted, "Now attack Super Agent!" Lag Buffer looked towards Super Agent, punched its bumper into the ground, and launched itself at the monster, punching the car was Super Agent was in, it survived again. **1700 - 250 = 1450** (Anonymous)

"Then I end my turn with two face-downs!" two face-downs appeared on either side of Uploading, "With it ending, Perfect Precision effect ends, returning Trade-In's ATK to normal." he said, **2550 = 1400** (Trade-In)

Codebuster's Hand x 1

 **Turn 3**

" _This is why Codebuster is a deadly opponent for anyone..._ " Anonymous began glaring at Codebuster with his none existence eyes, " _Even though I made attempts to halt his progress, he recovered instantly, meaning he can adapt quickly to the situation. Even Playmaker will have difficultly getting past him..._ " he finished. "My turn! I draw!" Anonymous drew his card.

"I Normal Summon SPYGAL Misty!" A beautiful red headed woman, wearing a white business suit appeared in the Far Left Main Monster Zone.

 **SPYGAL Misty: DARK, Level: 4 [Spellcaster/Effect] ATK/1500 DEF/** 1600

"Misty's effect! When Summoned, I can declare 1 type of card and you must show the me the top card of your Deck, If that card is the declared type, I get to draw a card!" he said, " _Since I don't know the cards anymore, I'm relying on luck here..._ " he thought sweating slightly, "I declare Trap!" at this Codebuster picked the top card of his Deck, slowly, making Anonymous sweat a bit before- "It's a Trap!" Codebuster said, showing this to be true. At this Anonymous sighed in relief. He then put the card back on top.

"Meaning now that I can draw a card!" he drew a card. "Appear! The Circuit that shows me the truth!" the Link Portal appeared below him again, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 SPYRAL monsters! I set Drone and Super Agent in the Link Markers!" the same monster from before, hit the same Markers, turning them red.

"Link Summon! SPYRAL Double Helix!" a second Double Helix appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to his Right.

"And now I activate the Trap, SPYRAL MISSON - Recapture!" Anonymous's only face-down flipped up, "When I Special Summon a SPYRAL monster, I can activate this card!" Anonymous jaw shifted, making him look like he was smirking without a mouth, "This card allows me to target 1 monster you control, and take control of it! I choose Perfect Precision!" a beam from the Trap shot out, and hit Perfect Precision, ensnaring it, it struggled before being forced over into Anonymous's Left Main Monster Zone.

"Now with it no longer linked to Lag Buffer, it loses 500 ATK, as does Lag Buffer!" **2300 - 500 = 1800** (Perfect Precision), **2400 - 500 = 1900** (Lag buffer)

"Then I activate Double Helix's effect!" he said, he didn't say anything else as Codebuster was smart enough to know what was going to happen. "Its a Trap!" he said, showing it again. "Meaning now I can take a SPYRAL monster and add it to my Hand!" Anonymous added his card.

"From my Graveyard, I banish Super Agent and two Drones..." his Duel Disk told him the cards were banished, this let's me Special Summon SPYRAL Sleeper from my Hand!" a tall agent appeared, looking similar to the taller of Double Helix.

 **SPYRAL Sleeper: DARK, Level: 8 [Warrior/Effect] ATK/2800 DEF/** 1200

"Then I activate the Equip Spell, SPYRAL GEAR - Fully Armed, and equip it onto Double Helix, who is treated as Super Agent!" a gauntlet appeared on the Super Agent of Double Helix. "That monster gains 1000 ATK!" Double's Helix's ATK: **1900 + 1000 = 2900**.

At this, Codebuster took action, "Trap activate, Cyberse Order!" his face-down in the Right Spell & Trap Zone flipped up, showing Cyberse monsters in a line-up, from smallest to biggest.

"Until the end of the turn this card is activated, you must battle a Cyberse monster I control with the most ATK, before targeting the second, and so on..." he explained, "So I can't take out Trade-In..." Anonymous's jaw slacked into a frown... "At this moment, Trade-In's linked effect activates!" Trade-In's back pack opened, and it brought out a card. "It has a deal for you, you can draw 1 card from your Deck, but you must give up your battle phase for it!" Codebuster explained to him. "Hmm, pass!" he said as Trade-In returned the card to its back pack.

"Battle! Double Helix, attack Lag Buffer!" the Super Agent of Double Helix yelled as it charged at the monster, his gauntlet fizzling with energy, "Lag Buffer's effect! When it or a monster linked to it are targeted for an attack, I can activate 1 of 2 effects!" Codebuster said as Lag Buffer's bumpers glowed, I choose that Lag Buffer cannot be destroyed by battle!"

Lag Buffer parried Doubler Helix's punch, sending the monster back to its position, while Codebuster took damage, Codebuster's LP: **4000 - 1000 = 3000**. "I know about that monster, I watched the Duel you had against Lancelot, if linked to 2 monster, that effect can be used twice per turn. But with only Trade-In linked to it, it's dead! Sleeper attacks Lag Buffer also!" Sleeper growled, roared and charged at Lag Buffer, this time it was destroyed. **3000 - 900 = 2100** (Codebuster)

"Now your own monster will attack Trade-In!" Perfect Precision fired it rifle at Trade-In, making a whole right through it. **2100 - 400 = 1700** (Codebuster) "I activate the effect Weirdware Forceguard from my Hand!" Codebuster showed the only card in his Hand. "During a turn 2 or more Weirdware monster leave the Field, I can Special Summon this card from my Hand! Appear, Weirdware Forceguard." he placed the card onto his blade.

This caused a tall cybernetic monster to appear, its torso was wide and donut shaped, a hole in the middle of it, its legs at the hips were thick like tree stumps, and its arms at the elbow were flat like shield, but at the elbows sticking out were two spikes. It was silver and dark grey in colour, it screen, which was square was blue. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone on Codebuster's side.

 **Weirdware Forceguard: EARTH, Level: 6 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1200 **DEF/2400**

"That's the monster that I put in the Middle with Drone's effect on my last turn!" Anonymous pointed out, "Hmmm, I end my turn!" he said, he had nothing that could get over Forceguard's DEF. "At the end of the turn that Cyberse Order is activated, I can banish it..." Codebuster banished the card, "This lets me add a Cyberse monster from my Deck whose ATK or DEF is lower than the ATK or DEF of a Cyberse that was destroyed this turn!" he added his card.

Anonymous's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card, "Portgate's effect! Since you control more cards than me, I can Special Summon, and 1 Weirdware monster from my Graveyard!" He Summoned Portage into his Far Right Main Monster Zone, and Lag Buffer into his Left Main Monster Zone. "Then I Normal Summon Weirdware Duo-ble!" Duo-ble appeared in the Far Left Main Monster Zone, linked to Lag Buffer.

 **Weirdware Duo-ble: FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 600

"Appear, the Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" the Link Portal appeared below, "The Summoning Conditions are at least 3 Weirdware monsters!" he said, making Anonymous flinch at what was coming, he had seen that Duel after all. Duo-ble's linked effect treats it as two, so I set it and Lag Buffer in the Link Markers!" Duo-ble and Lag Buffer split into two, turned into energy on their colour, Duo-ble hit the Bottom Left and Right, Lag Buffer hit the Middle Left and Middle Top, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear..." he began as the monster took form, "Weirdware Fail-Safe Dragon!" When Fail-Safe Dragon was complete, it soared out and landed in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right and roared.

 **Weirdware Fail-Safe Dragon: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/3000 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅↙⬆↘

"No way! That impossible!" Anonymous yelled out in shock, "That Link Monster has all its Markers filled!" he cried out, as this was true. Fail-Safe Dragon was Summoned into the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, making it co-linked to both Double Helix in the other Extra Monster Zone, the taken Perfect Precision in Anonymous's Left Main Monster Zone, and Forceguard and Portgate in the Middle and Far Right Main Monster Zone on Codebuster's side of the Field.

"Restoration Plant give Fail-Safe Dragon 500 ATK for every monster linked to it!" Codebuster said as Fail-Safe Dragon surged with power. Fail-Safe Dragon's ATK: **3000 + 2000 = 5000**.

"Time to make that number small! I activate Sleeper's effect!" Anonymous shouted, "During either turn, I can target SPYRAL card I control, and 2 cards you control and destroy them!" he explained, "I activate Fail-Safe Dragon's effect!" Codebuster interrupted, making Anonymous flinch at this, "During either turn, when a Monster's effect, Spell or Trap is activated, I can negate that effect, and send that card to the Graveyard! Program Rejection!" Fail-Safe roared which cause Sleeper to stiffen up. If was then sent to the Graveyard.

"Battle! Fail-Safe Dragon attack Double Helix!" Fail-Safe Dragon colour changed from green to orange, charging a sphere of blue energy from its mouth, "Disruptor Burst!" Codebuster yelled as the Cyberse dragon fired its attack, "At this moment, Fail-Safe Dragon additional effect activates! It gains 500 ATK for every co-linked Link Monster on the Field!" **5000 + 1500 = 6500** (Fail-Safe Dragon)

Anonymous did nothing, he knew it was over the second that dragon appeared, he embraced his defeat as the attack vaporised Double Helix. **1450 - 3600 = 0** (Anonymous)

Codebuster: **WINS**

Anonymous: **LOSES**

After the Duel was over, Anonymous fell to his knees, and then faceplanted to floor, now unconscious from the attack. The layout of the Duel vanished, with Perfect Precision returning to Codebuster, who then shot a beam at the downed Duelist, which tied him. He then pressed on the side of his covered ear.

"This is Codebuster, I've captured Anonymous, recovered the stolen data, as well as capture the would be buyer, who was using illegal money, over!" he said into his com.

" _Copy that Codebuster, Security Drones will be there soon, the reward money will be sent to your account_!" a female operator said, in the back ground on her side, he could've sworn he heard Kitamura screaming in the background about something else.

Just then, his Duel Disk pinged, getting a message, which he browsed quickly and smiled, "Alright, I'm sending my co-ordinates now, I need to do something now, alright?" he said, and got a okay as a reply for that. He then hung up, dragged StealthSpy534 who was still unconscious around the corner, and placed them near Anonymous, activated his drone, and transfer the evidence and stolen data into it.

"Wait here for the drone buddy, then come find me, okay?" he asked, the drone nodded, he then summoned his D-Board, and took up, looking back at the message.

 _Meet me atop of the Studio tower in 10 minutes_

 _Mole_

With this, he deleted the message and headed for this destination...

* * *

 **(10 Minutes later)**

Standing atop of the Studio Tower, Codebuster paced around for a bit. It was now 23:05 PM. So while he waited, he activate his tracking system, just to see if NoPlayer was around, which he was, but he was gone in about a minute later. "I wonder how he's doing? He seemed a tad insane during that duel he had against that Hanoi Knight." he said to himself.

At this he spotted his drone approached, which then connected itself onto his back.

"Hmm, where is Mole, he didn't literally just troll me, did he?" he thought out loud, suddenly he heard the sound of tunnelling coming from behind, he looked behind, just in time to see a cute little mole, which Codebuster thought looked like the one from the Mario franchise.

"There you are Mole, bout time you showed up!" he said smiling as he walked up to him, "Yeah yeah..." Mole said with squeaky voice, "What you want anyway? I'm a busy guy after all!" he asked, "Right," Codebuster began, "I want you to try and uncover something, something big that I think is going to happen soon." he requested.

"This may just be a fluke, but I've got this nagging feeling something is going to happen soon, are you up for it?" he asked. "Well..." Mole began, "Even if this is just a fluke, the bar keeper said you'd pay me handsomely for this, yes?" he asked, as Codebuster brought up some green data. "Does 30,000 Yen cover this job?" Codebuster said, shocking Mole at this, "Holy moly! That double what I usually request!" he yelled out.

"You can have half of it now, the rest after, deal?" he said splitting the data in two, "Deal!" Mole accepted quickly, Codebuster then gave him one half, "Please find something, anything that could mean trouble, alright?" he asked, "Sure sure, later!" Mole said, then quickly dug downward, the ground fixing itself as he lefted.

"Good now that that's done, I can-" he said to himself turning around, but stopped when he spotted something in the distant, "Is that-" he began...

* * *

Playmaker rested near Ghost Girl as she gazed outwards from the railing, having won their Duel they returned to the rooftop they landed on before. It was a difficult win for him, Ghost Girl had nearly cut him off him nearly everyway. She nearly OTK him during it, but he survived. The next few turns were the same, she blocked from winning as well as keeping him above 1000 LP, keeping him from activating Storm Access. (he blamed Ai's horrible acting for that)

But in the end he was able to use his Skill, he didn't encounter the monster from before and gained a new Code Talker, this had allowed him to win the Duel, and as promised the Backdoor program.

"Sheesh, if it wasn't for me, who knows what've happened. It was stressful" Ai gloated, despite not doing a thing during the Duel, beside his bac act at trying to get Ghost Girl to attack them, which she didn't in the end. She looked to the digital moon, "The moon is pretty tonight." she said, "Really? Looks like data to me." Ai remarked.

"A dumb AI can't understand this feeling." she retorted, "You promised." Playmaker added, snapping her out of it, "Give us what you promised." he asked, "Of course." she then summoned the data, and transferred it over to him, which was then sent to Shoichi. "You now have the backdoor to SOL Technologies' data bank." she said, and then walked off, "Until next time!" she then teleported away, leaving the two to themselves.

"Hey, what's in SOL Technologies' data bank?" Ai asked, "I don't know, however..." Playmaker thought back onto that day, the day he had been rescued, and the hell before that, "There may be something about myself ten years ago." he said.

"Really? Is it that-" Ai began, when out of nowhere, a orange data beam hit Playmaker right in the back, shocking the two, "We've been shot at!" Ai screamed, " _Data beam target acquired._ " a Duel Disk said, making Playmaker go stiff, "I've heard that before." Playmaker said frozen, he then slowly turned around and faced-

"Codebuster!" he said, as hovering before him on his D-Board, was the hunter himself, smirking all the while, "You really shouldn't daydream Playmaker, it could be bad for you..." he said, grinning, "This is one of those times, now you can't run away this time, either you hand over the Ignis, or we do this the hard way!" he said...

End of Chapter 13

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry it had been so long since the last time, I know I said that I would update sooner from the last one... But I don't think that promise can be quiet, so sadly, you lot will have to wait, until next time, and then on. Don't worry, there are some other good stories out there.**

 **But I hope you look forward to the next chapter, Playmaker is now forced to Duel Codebuster! Who will win, what will happen? Only I know, but guess! See ya next time!**

 **OC Cards**

 **(Codebuster) (By me)**

 **Weirdware Tether**

 **EARTH, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1400 DEF/1600**

When this card is Summoned: Target 1 "Weirdware" monster in your GY: Special Summon it, but negate its effects if you do. If this card is linked a Link Monster, apply this effect: Once per turn, if a "Weirdware" is targeted by a card effect, that would make it leave the field in anyway: target that monster; it cannot leave the field until this card leaves the field.

 **Weirdware Respawn**

 **DARK, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/300 DEF/500**

When you Special Summon a "Weirdware" monster, while this card is in the GY: Special Summon it. You can only activate this effect of "Weirdware Respawn" once per turn. If this card is Special Summoned through its own effect, banish it when it leaves the Field, or banish 2 other cards in your GY instead. If this card is linked to a "Weirdware" Link Monster, apply this effect: Once per turn, if "Weirdware" monster is sent to the GY: Special Summon back that monster, but negate its effects.

 **Weirdware Bit-Coin**

 **LIGHT, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/0**

If this card is sent to the GY: Draw 2 cards. If this card is linked to a Link Monster, apply this effect: During your Draw Phase; draw 1 extra card times the Link Rating of the Link Monster this card is linked to, but then send 1 of those cards to the GY.

 **Weirdware Forceguard**

 **EARTH, Level: 6 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/2400**

During either turn, that 2 or more "Weirdware" monsters you control leave the Field: Special Summon this card (from your Hand) Apply the following effect, depending of the battle position of this card: Attack: Any this card battle has their ATK cut in half for the rest of the turn. Defense: This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects once per turn. While this card is linked to a Link Monster you control, that monster gains 1 of the following effects, depending on the battle position of this card: Attack: If this card would be destroyed by battle, destroy the monster that would have destroyed this card instead. Defense: This card can inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent when it battles a monster in Defense Position.

 **Weirdware's Exchange Protocol**

 **Continious Spell**

You can activate both of the following effects once per turn: 1) During either player's turn: Target 1 "Weirdware" monster you control, tribute it, and if you do; Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Deck, GY or banished Zone, whose name is not the same as the tributed monster's name. 2) Send 1 "Weirdware" card from your Hand to the GY: Add 1 "Weirdware" card from your GY or Deck with a different name.

 **Weirdware Damage Repairs**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card when a "Weirdware" monster is attacked. That monster cannot be destroyed in that battle, also if you take battle Damage from that attack: Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your Deck who ATK or DEF is lower than the battle damage you took from that battle. When this card is banished from your GY: Set it in your Spell & Trap Zone face-down.

 **Cyberse Order**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card if your opponent control more monsters than you. Until the end of the turn this card was activated: Your opponent's monster must battle the Cyberse-Type monster you control with the highest ATK, before moving onto the next highest. At the end of the turn this card was activated: Banish this card, and if you do; add 1 Cyberse-Type monster from your Deck, whose ATK or DEF is equal or lower than the ATK or DEF of a Cyberse-Type monster that was destroyed this turn.

 **Weirdware** **Bomb Sweeper**

 **WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/200 LINK/-1, LMs: R**

1 Level 1 "Weirdware" monster

Any battle damage involving this card, and the monster it points to becomes 0. When the monster this card points to declares an attack, apply this effect: If your opponent activates a Spell or Trap; negate that card's effect, and if you do: Shuffle that card into your opponent's Deck. Once per turn, target 1 Set card your opponent controls: Shuffle that card into their Deck. If this card is Co-Linked when a card(s) are shuffled into your opponent's Deck: Add 1 "Weirdware" card from your Deck to your Hand.

 **Weirdware Ad-Burner**

 **FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/600 LINK/-1, LMs: L**

1 Level 4 or lower "Weirdware" monster

Each time a Spell or Trap is activated: Inflict 100 damage to your opponent for every "Weirdware" monster you control. Once per turn, activate 1 (and only 1) of the following effects: 1) Target 1 card in your opponent's Spell & Trap Zone: Destroy it. 2) When the monster this card points to battles an opponent's monster: (Quick Effect) Destroy that opponent's monster without applying damage calculation. When the monster this card points to is destroyed: Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

 **Weirdware Scale Balancer**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect]ATK/1500 LINK/-2, LMs: L, R**

2 "Weirdware" monsters with the same Level

This card can declare a second attack during each Battle Phase. During the Battle Phase of either player's turn, apply these effects, depending on the number of monsters this card points to: 1+) When this card battles: The ATK of the monster this card battles loses ATK equal to half its original ATK, until after this card has battled. 2) When this card battles an opponent's monster: It gains ATK equal to its original ATK until after damage calculation. You can only activate these effects once per turn. If this Co-Linked card is destroyed: Draw 1 card for every monster that was Co-Linked to it.

 **Weirdware Override**

 **FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-3, LMs: T, R, B**

3 "Weirdware" monsters whose Levels equal 7 or higher

When this card is first Link Summoned, it gains the following effects for the rest of the Duel, depending on this card's Link Material's total Level: 7+) When this card declares an attack: The monster it battles loses 100 ATK x the total Level of this card's Link Materials. 8+) When this card, or a monster you control that this card points to attacks a monster: Your opponent cannot activate Spell or Traps until after damage calculation, also face-up Spell and Trap's lose their effects until after damage calculation of those battles. 9+) When this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster. When this Link Summoned card is destroyed: Special Summon from your Deck, "Weirdware" monsters whose combined Levels equal the total Level of this card's Link Material.

 **Weirdware Bypasser**

 **EARTH [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2600 LINK/-3, LMs: BL, T, R**

2+ "Weirdware" monsters

This card, and monsters you control that this card points to can inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent, when they battle an opponent's monster in Defense Position. Once per turn, reveal 1 "Weirdware" monster in your Hand: Target 1 monster your opponent, + 1 for every monster this card points to: Their ATK & DEF become equal to the ATK & DEF of the revealed monster, you cannot Summoned the revealed monster, also these changes last until the end of the turn. Once per turn, target face-down cards your opponent controls up to the number of monsters this card points to: Send them to the GY, if this card if linked to 2 monster when this effect is activated: Your opponent cannot activate those targeted cards.


	14. Chapter 14: The Bane of Link Monsters!

"Speaking"

 ***Noise* or "Speaking over flashbacks"**

" _Thoughts or Summoning chants and etc."_

* * *

"No! We're doomed, the shooter got us!" Ai panicked, his true form, peeking out, flailing his arms about.

"Yusaku! What's going on!? I was starting to study the backdoor, but I was just alerted that something happened to your logout function!" Shoichi shouted to him over the com, Codebuster tilted his head.

"That your partner in crime there?" he asked shocking the two, "WHAT!? How did he hear that?!" Ai said, "That IP I got a while back, I've created a deciphering program, that has slowly, but surely, guessing the rest of your source code, whenever you are activate." he explained.

"Anyways Playmaker, let's get this over with, you can't run or hide anymore, with my program still running by the way..." he said, making Shoichi begin to prevent this further. "Before we begin, I want to ask you something." he said, "What is it?" Playmaker said, "That Cyberse Deck, where did you get it from? I've been wanting to ask you that for ages, but Blue Angel and Go stopped me during your debut." he said.

"It was from legend a couple of years ago..." he answered, confusing Ai, but Codebuster knew what he meant, "Ah, I see... I honestly thought that it was a prank, guess it was true, if that's what you say. Now how long have you been fighting Hanoi?" he then asked, "Longer than I've had this Deck. Now I've got a question for you." Playmaker said.

"Yes?" he asked, "Are you really supporting a victim of that incident, from ten years ago?" he said, this made Codebuster sigh, "Yes, they had no one to help them when I found them... All those years ago..." he said, thinking back on that day...

* * *

 **(8 Years ago)**

An 11 Year old Matoyia was walking about the orphanage he now lived at, this was the sixth one this year, due to his behaviour, the other kids from the other orphanages kept picking on him, so he fought back. This was proven as he had a couple of first-aid plasters on his face.

As he walked over to be by himself, he heard a commotion, he looked to his left, and spotted several kids gathered together, two of them seemed to holding a girl back, as she tried to break free from their grasp. He walked closer to hear more clearly.

"Please! Leave him alone, he hasn't done anything, neither of us have!" the girl screamed, which he notice had garnet hair, with some light blue accents in its, it framed her face.

"No way! This is too much fun! He's like a punching bag!" one of the kids, who was clearly the leader of the pack, as he threw a couple of punches at the small child, who was being held by two of the gang. This child, 8 years old, had similar hair colour to the struggling girl, but what Matoyia saw in his eye confused him, nothing, he couldn't see a thing, this child's eye was dull, devoid of life, he didn't even flinch has the leader kneed him in the stomach.

"Come on you brat, react! Give me something, this is starting to get boring until tomorrow!" the leader said, reeling back his fist, about to deliver another punch, until- "Hey!" Matoyia shouted out, stopping the leader, who looked back, as did the rest of the gang and the girl, the boy remained motionless.

"Look its the new kid!" one of the gang said, the leader turned to face him. "What do you want kid?" he asked annoyed that this kid was ruining his fun, "Just who do you think you are? Picking on someone who can't defend themselves!" Matoyia asked.

"Me? I basically rule over this place, the grown ups are so stupid, its easy to distract them while I do what I want, and no one says a thing to them!" he said smiling, hoping that would make this brat now that he didn't stand a chance.

"Then maybe I should tell them about this, then." Matoyia said and turned to leave, "Hold it brat!" the leader yelled making the other kids hear and look their way, "What makes you think they're going to believe a stupid kid like you?" he asked.

"They will, once I play them the recording I've made with my Duel Disk!" Matoyia held up his Duel Disk, which was hexagonal shaped, green and black, and side part golden yellow, and the lens crimson red. "You recorded us!? Give me that Disk now!" the leader yelled.

"Sure, if you can beat me in a Duel!" Matoyia grabbed a Deck from his pocket and inserted it into his Duel Disk, "You game! If you win, I'll delete it, I win, you leave these two alone for good, deal?" he asked.

The leader frowned, but then smiled, "Alright, fine! It'll be fun to see you utterly humiliated before my amazing skills!" the leader gloated and armed his Duel Disk, the two holding the girl, let her go, who then made her way over to the boy and hugged him.

"DUEL!" the two shouted...

* * *

"Igknight Champion! Attack his Prank-Kids Dodo-Doodle-Doo!" Matoyia shouted, as his huge green robotic warrior monster, armed with a bazooka loaded with a spear fired at the chicken like monster that was controlled by the leader, who was shocked as the attack connected, taking the leaders remaining LP's, making him lose the Duel.

"No way! The boss lost!" one of the gang members said shocked, as were many of the other orphans, Matoyia walked over the downed leader, "Since I won, you and your lot leave those two alone, got it?" he asked threateningly for an eleven year old.

"Whatever, that was a fluke, I'll get you next time brat!" the leader got up and walked off, "Let's go guys!" he shouted to his gang, who then rushed to his side.

When they were gone, Matoyia looked over at the two, and calmly walked over to them. "Are you two alright?!" he asked, making her look up with a small smile, "Thank you..." she said, "But you know he's going to get you back for that." she said.

"No he won't, I'm showing this recording to the caretakers, and they'll deal with them." he explained, confusing her, "What? I never said I wouldn't tell the caretakers about this, I'm not going to let some bully get away with what he wants. He'll be gone soon..." he said, at this she smiled, and then turned back to her brother who hadn't moved at all.

"Why did they do that to him for?" he asked, glancing at the boy, he did that a couple of times during the Duel, but every time, all he saw was a lifeless child. "If you must know..." she began, "My brother was kidnapped two years ago... Where the people behind it... tortured him..." at this she began to cry, "He was gone for about 6 months, and he and several other kids were rescued, he's been liked this every since." she then looked back at him.

"So that bully thought he do what he wanted against someone who wouldn't fight back huh?" he guessed. "Man that guy is messed up for doing something like that." he mumbled to himself.

"So now that you know, you can leave now if you want." she said, confusing him, "Why would I leave?" he said, shocking her, "What do you mean? Surely you don't want to be around someone that's like this, do you?" she asked.

"Honestly, not really..." he began, making her frown, "But..." she looked up, "He's going to need a lot of help, if he's going to have a life, and I'm willing to help you guys achieve that!" he then held out a hand, much to her shock, "I'm Matoyia Guriddo, by the way." he said with a smile, for a while she just looked up at him in shock.

"Do you... Do you really mean that?" she whispered.

"Of course, and just so you know, I never let my friends down!" he said, shocking her again, but slowly she smiled, and grabbed his hand to shake it, "If you mean it, then my name is Asuka Haru, and my baby brother is Aito." she said, and she nodded.

He then walked closer, and knelt down before the boy, "Hey Aito..." he began, "Don't bother, he won't respond to anyone..." Asuka explained, "Doesn't mean I can't try..." he said, then turned back to Aito, "You not may know that I'm here at the moment, but if you do, know this. No matter how long it takes, or whatever its takes. I'll be there for you, and your sister, and that's my promise..." he said, and then grabbed the boys tiny hand in his own...

* * *

 **(Present)**

Having finished his thought, he looked back at Playmaker, "They've come along way since then..." he said, even though he didn't tell the two about what he just remembered, "And I'm not just going to sit here, and let that effort go to waster, I'm taking that Ignis from you, Playmaker!" he declared, clenching a fist at the Hacker, "Even if you are the same as him, you're just a stranger..." he added.

"I have three reasons for why I must not run away from this Duel or lose!" Playmaker declared, "One: Losing would mean that I must hand over Ai to you, whom I'm keeping prisoner to lure Hanoi out to me" he said hold a single finger, "Is that all I am to you? A prisoner?..." Ai said sadly at that comment" Two: Your beam program may also take what I required from Ghost Girl, which I need to get into SOL's Data banks, which could hold something in it about the incident ten years ago."

" _So he's got a Backdoor program into SOL..._ " Codebuster thought, "And three: I really want to see who out of the two of us, is better!" he said with a small smile, "If that's true, then why didn't you seek me out?" Codebuster remarked.

"I was preparing for the time we did face off, but you've fast forwarded it, meaning I must now face you as I am right now!" he explained, "So if you're ready, let's begin!" Codebuster said, and turned his D-Board around and fell down. Playmaker followed him and jumped off the roof, summoned his D-Board, and followed him on the Data Storm stream...

* * *

"Well? Did you film it?" Frog asked Pigeon, talking about the Duel they witness with Playmaker and Ghost Girl, by pure accident, may I add. The two were on the ground in a small park. "Of course! Perfectly!" Pigeon shouted, "Yes! Even though we didn't get a scoop on Playmaker's historical defeat, but we did film a fantastic duel!" Frog exclaimed.

"Now we can finish the Playmaker TV Special!" Pigeon cheered, "Yeah! Play back the Duel!" Frog ordered, Pigeon did as ordered, and began to play the video, at first all it showed was static. "Huh?!" Pigeon said confused, "What's up?" Frog asked, "Something's wrong!" Pigeon cried out, just then, a video of Ghost Girl, lying down on a bed seductively appeared.

" _Sorry, but I erased your recording._ " she said, she then vanished, leaving only a _DATA DELETED_ reading, shocking the two at this, "What should we do, Yamamoto?!" Pigeon screamed, "Don't call me by my real name!" Frog screamed back.

"Yamamoto!" Pigeon screamed again.

Up above, looking down at the two, was Ghost Girl, "Sorry, but tonight's duel is a secret between me and Playmaker..." she said to herself.

"Even though I lost, that doesn't mean I haven't gained anything from it." she said, thinking about the Backdoor program, which was a copy, that she gave to Playmaker, she wouldn't risk an only copy like that. "Now I have someone to be the bait for me, while I go for the treasure itself!" she said.

Suddenly she heard something, making her look to the left, and was shocked to see Playmaker still logged in, "Playmaker? Why is he- Is that Codebuster!" she said shocked, as following after Playmaker was Codebuster, "Codebuster must have caught him with his program." she concluded, "Hmm, two of the strongest Duelist in Link VRAINS, about to duke it out, that's a show I don't want to miss!" she then jumped off the roof, landed on her D-Board, and soared over Frog and Pigeon, who stopped to look up at her.

"It's Ghost Girl! Get back here, you owe us compensation for deleting our recording!" Frog screamed, his tadpole having hearts to eyes. "Don't just stand there, Pigeon! Let's go after her!" he yelled, "Right!" Pigeon then grabbed Frog, and carried him to follow the treasure hunter...

* * *

"Hey Playmaker, are you sure about this?" Ai asked as the two soared, followed by Codebuster, "There's nothing we can do about it, his program caught us, we have to Duel him now..." Playmaker said.

"True, but if we've got to do this, then we'll need every advantage in this Duel!" the Ignis said, just then Codebuster then got level with him, "So you want to go second eh? I've notice that's a recurring pattern for you two, you go second, allowing you to evaluate the opponent's strategy, and also gain another card." he said, making Playmaker stiffen as he saw right through him.

"Well, how about this then." he then pointed ahead, where the flowing data was turning around the corner, "See that bend there? The first to make it around gets to go second, deal!" he said. "No way! You forced us into this Duel, we get to go sec-" "Deal!" Ai was cut off by Playmaker, "Are you crazy!" Ai screamed.

Behind them at a distant was Ghost Girl, " _Hmm, I would like to see how Playmaker deals with going first, he'd probably go for a defensive strategy._ " she thought, behind her was Frog and Pigeon.

"Codebuster is Dueling Playmaker, this is even better than the one before!" Frog yelled, luckily no one but Pigeon could hear him, "Start recording, now!" he yelled, "Right!" Pigeon screamed, beginning to record.

"Ready..." Codebuster began, "Set..." the two got their D-Boards ready...

...

...

"GO!" the two then took off instantly, with the three behind them following closely.

At first, the two Duelist were neck-and-neck, one slowly gaining first, before the second took over, and then repeating until Playmaker began to gain more distant over the bounty hunter.

"Yes! We're winning! Second turn here we come!" Ai cheered.

Ahead, the stream began to heighten, making a small incline, Playmaker jumped it before, and landed, Codebuster however hit the bump, and went soaring into the air, "Ha! He didn't make it!" Ai cheered.

"That doesn't make sense..." Playmaker said, "Codebuster is an exceptional D-Boarder, he wouldn't-" his eyes widened as he looked back at Codebuster, who was smirking.

"See ya!" Codebuster tapped his right foot, pressing a pad on his Board, causing his thruster to glow, before propelling him right over Playmaker with a big boost in speed, the three behind them were shocked at this. "NO! He's far ahead now!" Ai screamed.

When Codebuster landed, he was indeed further ahead, a moment later, he reached the bend, following by Playmaker a few moments after him.

"Looks like I win!" Codebuster said grinning as he looked back at a frowning Playmaker, he then slowed down to be near Playmaker, "No hard feelings?" he said, "You won fair and square, so let's begin!" Playmaker went ahead, Codebuster lagged behind before accelerating after him.

"It's starting, one of the most amazing Duels is about to start, and we're going to witness it first hand!" Frog squealed in delight.

"Speed Duel!" the two shouted, drawing 4 cards each.

Playmaker's LP: **4000**

Codebuster's LP: **4000**

 **Turn 1**

"Since I lost, I must go first..." Playmaker said, "I'll start by Normal Summoning Poisoning Blocker!" A humanoid cyber monster appeared, attached to its arms and legs was purple shield like armour. It was Summoned to the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Poisoning Blocker: DARK, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/0 DEF/** 1400

"Poisoning Blocker's effect! Once per turn, if its in Attack Position, I can switch it into Defense!" Poisoning Block brought its arms and legs together and formed an oval shaped shield. "It then gains 800 ATK and DEF!" Poisoning Blocker's ATK & DEF: 0 **/1400 + 800/800 =** 800 **/2200**.

"Since I control a Cyberse-Type monster, I can Special Summon Backup Secretary from my Hand!" Backup Secretary appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Backup Secretary: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1200 **DEF/800**

"I then set a card and end my turn!" he said, the card appeared, before fading. "Good start! With this our defense is strong!" Ai cheered from its eye form.

Playmaker's Hand x 1

 **Turn 2**

"Hmm, of course he would go on the defensive, he's the one that normally goes second, so he doesn't know what I can do." Codebuster smirked, "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card, then looked at his Hand, and smirked. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Weirdware's Exchange Protocol!" he said as the card appeared in his Middle Spell & Trap Zone.

"Once per turn, I can send a Weirdware card from my Hand to the Graveyard, and add a different one from my Deck!" he sent Downloader to the Graveyard, and added Portgate. "Recycler's effect! When a card is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it from my Hand or Graveyard!" Recycler appeared from his Hand in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Recycler: EARTH, Level: 5 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1900 DEF/** 1300

"Portgate's effect! Since you control more cards than me, I can Special Summon it from my Hand, along with another one!" He Summoned Portgate into his Middle Main Monster Zone, and Installer into his Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Portgate: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse, Effect] ATK/** 500 **DEF1400**

 **Weirdware Installer: EARTH, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 600 **DEF1300**

"Installer's effect! Once per turn, I can set a Spell or Trap from my Deck into a Spell & Trap Zone, but I cannot activate it this turn!" a set card appeared on his Field in the Left Spell & Trap Zone.

"Looks like he's getting ready to attack!" Ai commented, "Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" Sparks erupted from his hand, causing the Link Portal to appeared before him. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions is one Level 5 or higher Weirdware monster! I set Recycler in the Link Markers!" Recycler turned into energy, and hit the Bottom Left marker, turning it red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Weirdware Downcool!" The freezing Weirdware monster appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, linked to Portgate.

 **Weirdware Downcool: WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1000 LINK/-1, LMs:** ↙

"Portgate's effect! When linked to a Link Monster, I can move it to a unused Monster Zone, and then Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster from my Deck!" Portgate was moved into the Right Main Monster Zone. "I Summon Duo-ble!" Duo-ble appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Duo-ble: FIRE, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** **1200 DEF/** 600

"Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my fate!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters! I set Duo-ble, whose linked effect, treats it as two, and Installer in the Link Markers!" Duo-ble split into two, they and Installer turned into energy, Installer hit the Middle Bottom, the Duo-ble's hit the Middle Left and Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Weirdware Operator!" materializing in was a lime green cybernetic monster, similar build to the other Link 3 Weirdware monsters, but more athletic. It's lower legs and arms were a darker shade of green. Its chest plate had five silver orbs in a pentagon formation. There also appeared to be several cylinders on its. Four on its back, with upper two being slight larger, and two on either side of each foot, mounted under its arms, connected to the elbows on a ball joint were some kind of sphere throwing contraptions, they were rotated and facing upwards, making the arms at the elbows look longer. Its visor was a dark blue. It was Summoned to the Middle Main Monster Zone, linked to Downcool.

 **Weirdware Operator : WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬇➡

"Great... Another new Link 3..." Ai groaned at the sight of the monster, " _It appears that Codebuster has a Link Monster for every Attribute, between Link 1 and 3..._ " Shoichi told them over their com system. "Yeah." Playmaker agreed with this.

"Once more!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are 2 Weirdware monster, with at least one Link Monster! I Set Link 1 Downcool and Installer in the Link Markers!" Codebuster said as Downcool and Installer turned into energy, Downcool hit the Middle Right, and Installer the Middle Bottom, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Weirdware Accumulator!" flying out of the portal was a dark blue cyber monster, slight bigger than Downcool, covering the entire monster were golden coloured studs, with a cyan ring fixed onto them, there were fifty in total. Twelve on each arm, three stacks of four on its cylinder like arms. Six on both its legs, three were on either side of the legs. Six on its back in a hexagon formation. Four on its chest plate in an underside trapezium formation, and then there were four on its head, two acting as its ears, and the other two were acting as cheeks. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone that Downcool was in before.

 **Weirdware Accumulator: WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1700 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬇➡

" _He's using cards that no one has seen before, making it more difficult for Playmaker to make a strategy up against them._ " Ghost Girl thought as she followed them.

"Accumulator's effect! When Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Weirdware monster from my Graveyard, by negating its effects for the rest of the turn!" Codebuster said as a dark portal opened up in his Right Main Monster Zone. "I Summon Downloader!" Downloader appeared from the portal, its colours becoming dull due to losing its effects, it was linked to both Operator and Accumulator.

 **Weirdware Downloader: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1600 DEF/** 1000

"Accumulator's additional effect! Once per turn, all monster linked to it gain 600 ATK!" The rings on Accumulator glowed stronger. Downloader's ATK: **1600 + 600 = 2200**. "Then I gain 300 LP for every monster affected by this effect!" Codebuster's LP: **4000 + 300 = 4300**

"I set a card..." a card appeared face-down in Codebuster's final Spell & Trap Zone. "Battle! Operator attacks Backup Secretary!" Operator's contraptions rotated and latched onto its arms, extended slightly, and began to charge two sphere of green plasma.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Target Recalibration!" Playmaker activated the card from his Hand, the image was that of an advanced targeting system, but it was glitching and targeting a different target than its original one. "When you declare an attack against my monster, I can change the attack to another target! I select Poisoning Blocker!" Operator shifted its aim towards Poisoning Blocker and fired two bolts of energy at it. But nothing happened when the attack collided with it.

"Target Recalibration also makes the new target unable to be destroyed in that battle!" he added, "Nice! Now he doesn't have anything stronger to get over Poisoning Blocker!" Ai cheered.

"Wow that Ignis always jumps to conclusions!" Codebuster interrupted, "Operator's effect! After it has battled, I target a monster linked to it, and half its ATK!" Downloader was the only one linked to Operator, so it was the target. **2200 = 1100** (Downloader) "Doing this allows Downloader to attack you directly!" this shocked the two, "That's what he must've been going for originally!" Playmaker surmised.

"Now Downloader attacks your directly!" Downloader gather a red ball in its arms, and tossed it at Playmaker, soaring past his two monsters, and hitting him in the shoulder, pushing him forward. Playmaker's LP: **4000 - 1100 = 2900**

"Codebuster has dealt the first blow to Playmaker! He really is a tricky opponent!" Frog shouted.

"Should I take battle damage the turn Target Recalibration is activated, I can draw a card!" Playmaker drew a card. "And now I end my turn!" Codebuster said smirking, having taken the lead so quickly. "With it ending, Downloader's ATK returns to normal. **1100 = 2200** (Downloader) "Not only that, but since its the end of the turn, its effect returns as well, so now it linked effect activates! All Weirdware monster gain 100 ATK for every Weirdware monster I control!" Accumulator's ATK: **1700 + 300 = 2000** , Operator's ATK: **2300 + 300 = 2600** , **2200 + 300 = 2500** (Downloader)

Codebuster's Hand x 0

 **Turn 3**

"Strange? Why didn't he take out Backup Secretary?" Ai pondered, "He must want me to Summon a Code Talker, he must know that the beam that scanned Firewall Dragon created Fail-Safe, and wants to make Weirdware version of the Code Talkers..." Playmaker explained.

"You're not going to let him do that, are you?" Ai whined, not liking the sound of a Weirdware copy of Decode Talker, "I don't have a choice, they're the only monsters other than Firewall that are powerful enough." he said.

"My turn! I draw!" Playmaker drew his card. "I Summon Stack Reviver!" Stack Reviver appeared Playmaker's Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **Stack Reviver: DARK, Level: 2 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/100 DEF/** 600

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" the Link Portal appeared beneath Playmaker, "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 monsters! I set Stack Reviver and Backup Secretary in the Link Markers!" the two monsters turned into twisters, Backup hit the Middle Top and Stack Reviver the Middle Bottom markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2, Space Insulator!" from the portal appeared a cybernetic man, dressed in blue shiny armour with some grey around its chest. It was Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's Right, opposite of Accumulator.

 **Space Insulator: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1200 LINK/-2, LMs:** ⬆⬇

"Stack Reviver's effect! When used to Link Summon, I target another Level 4 or lower Cyberse in my Graveyard that was used in that Link Summon and Special Summon it!" Backup Secretary appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone in Defense, linked to Space Insulator. "Now I activate the Spell, Arrow Charge!" he said.

"When there are two Link Monsters in the Extra Monster Zone with same amount of Link Markers, I can draw two cards, but I must reveal them to you and banish them from my Hand if they are still there at the end of the turn!" he explained drawing two cards. A screen appeared over Codebuster's Duel Disk, showing him the cards he drew.

"Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" Playmaker yelled, making the Link Portal appear again, "The Summoning conditions are at least two Cyberse monsters! I set Link 2 Space Insulator and Poisoning Blocker in the Link Markers!" Space Insulator split into two, they and Poisoning Blocker turned into twisters, Space Insulator hit the Middle Top and Bottom, while Poisoning Blocker hit the Bottom Right, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Encode Talker!" The LIGHT Attribute Code Talker materialized from data, its shield poised at the ready as it appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's Right, where Space Insulator was in before.

 **Encode Talker: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆⬇↘

The moment it touched down, Codebuster's Duel Disk acted up, and shot out a beam that hit Encode, it then began to cover the monster entirely, scanning it. "No! Its happening to Encode Talker!" Ai screamed as the scan finished.

"I activate the effect of Backup Operator from my Hand!" he said taking one of the showed card from his Hand, "I target a face-up monster a Link Monster I control that is linked to it, and return it to the Hand! I pick Backup Secretary!" Backup Secretary vanished, returning to his Hand. "Doing so allows me to Special Summon Operator from my Hand!"

A monster, similar to Secretary and wearing something similar to her as well appeared, she had longer hair than Secretary, and was also seated in a hover chair. She appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone that Secretary was in before.

 **Backup Operator: LIGHT, Level: 3 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1200 DEF/** 800

"And since I control a Cyberse-Type, I can Special Summon Backup Secretary from my Hand!" Secretary once again appeared on his Field in the Middle Main Monster Zone, in Attack this time. "And now I activate the effect of the last card in my Hand!" he showed the card also.

"Because its the only card in my Hand, I can now Special Summon it! Appear! Flick Clown!" A four armed monster, dressed in fine clothing, and carrying a spectre appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone.

 **Flick Clown: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 1000 **DEF** **/1400**

"And now I activate its other effect! Since I have no cards in my Hand, I can pay 500 LP..." **2900 - 500 = 2400** (Playmaker) "To draw one card!" he then drew a card.

"Once again! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" the Link Portal appeared again, "The Summoning Conditions are at least two Cyberse monsters!" I set Backup Operator, Backup Secretary and Flick Clown in the Link Markers!" the three monster turned into twisters, the Backup monster hit the Middle Left and Right, and Flick Clown hit the Middle Top, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3, Excode Talker!" just materializing in was a new Code Talker, its main body was the same as the other two, but the circuit lining was green instead on yellow or purple, its armour covering its was a lighter green, two huge shoulder pads, and connected to its helmet at the back was an extension, the orbs over its body was orange, and on its arms were wrist mounted shields. It was Summon to the Right Main Monster Zone, under Encode Talker, both Co-linked to one another.

 **Excode Talker: WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬅⬆➡

"That's a new one!" Codebuster commented, his Duel Disk acted up again, this time scanning Excode Talker. "That's two out of three!" Ai whined, "Excode Talker's effect! When Link Summoned, for every monster in the Extra Monster Zones, a Main Monster Zone cannot be used!" Excode began to gather a ball of green energy in its hand, "Grasp Zone!" Excode then tossed the sphere at Main Monster Zone that was Codebuster's Left one, blocking him from using it for now.

"Then Excode's additional effect! Monsters linked to it gain 500 ATK!" Encode glowed green briefly, Encode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 500 = 2800**

"I set a card!" a card appeared face-down in his Spell & Trap Zone. "Battle! Excode Talker, attack Operator!" Excode's shields suddenly released two energy claws on each one, it then charged at Link 3 WIND Weirdware monster, "At this moment, Encode Talker's effect activates!" at this Encode's shield glowed, forming a barrier around Excode. "When a monster linked to Encode battles a monster with higher ATK, Encode makes that monster not be destroyed in that battle, and I don't take battle damage either!" Excode, cloaked in the barrier striked at Operator, who went to retaliate.

After the battle, the two went back to their respective masters, "Now that the battle is over, the rest of Encode's effect activates! It or one monster linked to it gains ATK equal to the ATK of your monster that was battled!" **2800 + 2600 =5400** (Encode Talker) "Yes! Encode is more powerful!" Ai cheered.

"Now Encode Talker attacks Downloader!" Playmaker shouted, going for Downloader was a good choice, seeing that by destroying it would weaken Codebuster's other monsters. Encode unsheathed the hidden blade in its shield. "Final Encode!" the LIGHT Code Talker gave a cry and charged.

"Perfect! Now Operator's effect activates!" Codebuster yelled out, Operator's mounted weaponry began to discharge small amounts of energy as they seperated further apart. "When a monster linked to it is the target of an attack, Operator becomes that target instead!" he explained, much to their confusion... Mostly Ai than Playmaker.

"Huh? So he's sacrificing a strong monster for another, what's that about?" Ai commented, "And since a monster was targeted, I activate the Trap, Weirdware Rebound!" one of Codebuster's face-downs flipped up, showing an image of an Weirdware, surrounded by a magnetic field, which was repelling an attack from an enemy.

"This card can only be activated when a Weirdware monster is targeted for an attack or card effect..." he began, "And because Operator technically was targeted in a way." he added, making sure they got what he was saying.

" _I_ _t's both amazing and terrifying that he can think this far ahead_." Ghost Girl thought, as Codebuster seemed to have studied Playmaker to a certain degree.

"Depending on what the targeting was for, one of two effects will be triggered, If by battle, if my monster is destroyed, then the monster that destroyed it is also destroyed!" Codebuster explained, "If an effect, then you must target your own monster for the effect." he added.

Encode's shield sword slashed through Operator, destroying it. **4300 - 2800 = 1500** (Codebuster)

"Ha! We did a lot of damage to him!" Ai cheered, hopeful for his chances of survival, "You've seem to have forgotten something..." Playmaker told the Ignis, "Huh? Like what?!" it asked, clearly confused.

"He means this! Rebound's effect! Since Operator was destroyed in that battle, Encode Talker is now destroyed!" Rebound's card appeared on the Field again, and fired a beam that headed straight for Encode. Ai seemed confident, "Ha! We fooled you!" it shouted, confusing Codebuster, "Monsters linked to Excode Talker cannot be destroyed by card effects!" Playmaker explained as Excode got in front of Encode and slashed the beam in two.

"I see..." Codebuster gritted his teeth, having taken serious damage for that small mishape. "I now end my turn!" Playmaker said, "Which means the rest of Operator's effect kicks in!" Codebuster said. "If destroyed by that battle, it Special Summons itself!" Operator appeared back in his Middle Main Monster Zone.

Playmaker's Hand x 0

 **Turn 4**

"Careful Playmaker, he can bring out Rewire" Shoichi said over the com, "Don't worry, I will." Playmaker answered back, "Just a bit more, and then we can win this!" Ai said...

* * *

Watching from their private server was Hanoi, within this group at this hour, was Revolver, Vire, Valcry, Ares and Dr Kogami.

"This isn't good, should Codebuster win, and that may be likely, then SOL will get the Ignis..." Kogami said watching the Duel up until this moment, he saw the precise planning Codebuster had done, having only made a slight miscalculation in not knowing about the new Code Talker's effects.

"So we basically need Playmaker to win, right?" Valcry asked, "Kind of ironic, don't you think?" Vire asked with a twisted laugh at the end, nether Revolver nor Ares said a thing, gazing at the screen, a moment later, Ares turned away and walked off.

"Where are you going?" Revolver asked, not looking away from the screen, "To see this Duel, up close and personal..." was all Ares said as he teleported out...

* * *

When Ares appeared in Link VRAINS, he fell, then quickly summoned his D-Board, looking around, he spotted the Duel taking place below, so he followed from up where he was.

"My turn! I draw!" Codebuster drew his card. "I activate Accumulator's effect! Downloader gains another 600 ATK!" **2500 + 600 = 3100** (Downloader) **1500 + 300 = 1800** (Codebuster)

"I activate Exchange's effect! I tribute Downloader..." Downloader turned into data, with it leaving, the ATK of the other Weirdware monsters return to normal. **2000 = 1700** (Accumulator) **2600 = 2300** (Operator) "I now Special Summon a different Weirdware monster from my Deck, Graveyard or banished Zone, I pick my Deck and Summon Reviver!"

Appearing was a small drone, its was white in colour, with a red medical cross on top of its, it had two hover pads on either side, at the front, which held its lens screen, were two small LED blue eyes, that blinked as it appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Reviver: DARK, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/DEF:** 400 **/300**

"Now appear! The Shining Circuit that will my Fate!" the Link Portal appeared below him, "The Summoning conditions are at least two Weirdware monsters! I set Link 2 Accumulator and Reviver in the Link Markers!" Accumulator split into two, they and Reviver then turned into energy, Accumulator hit the Middle Top and Bottom, while Reviver hit the Bottom Left, turning them red. "Its coming!" Ai screamed at the position the monsters hit the markers.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Weirdware Rewire!" Rewire's form materialized, soared our of the portal and landed in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right, where Accumulator was in before.

 **Weirdware Rewire: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2200 LINK/-3, LMs:** ⬆↙⬇

"Oh I'm not going to like this..." Ai whined, "I activate Reviver's effect!" Codebuster shouted, "When used to Link Summon a Weirdware Link Monster, I can banish it...," Reviver was banished, "Then I can target a different Weirdware monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it! I Summon back Downloader!" Downloader appeared back in the Right Main Monster Zone.

"Its linked effect activates again!" **1600 + 300 = 1900** (Downloader) **2300 + 300 = 2600** (Operator) Rewire's ATK: **2200 + 300 = 2500**

"Now for Rewire's effect! I can target a monster on the Field, and Rewire gains that monster's effect until the end of the next turn!" Rewire began to aim its cable arm, "I pick Encode!" the cable arm extended and hit Encode right in the chest, the Code Talker began to struggle as its data was being copied, being drained into the cable and transferred into Rewire.

"Oh this can't be good!" Pigeon cried out, when Rewire pulled its arm away, said arm began to glow yellow, and shift and change, when the glow was over, Rewire now had arm that looked exactly like Encode's arm, complete with shield but the two had fused together, at the end of the shield were its fingers, which had become 5 (including the thumb) with the middle finger actually the shield's hidden blade, the shield itself was narrower and trimmed with energy. Rewire began to flex his new arm.

"Strange, when Rewire used its effect on Decryption during his Duel against Lancelot, it made an exact copy of its weapon, why is its copy of Encode's shield mutated..." Ai pondered.

"The data between the two Cyberse must be different, thus affecting Rewire's data." Playmaker guessed, "I set a card!" a card appeared face-down "Battle! Downloader attacks Excode Talker!" Downloader's arms began to fizzle, "At this moment, I activate Rewire's borrowed effect from Encode Talker!" Rewire's Encode like arm created a barrier around Downloader.

"Downloader isn't destroyed in this battle, and I take no battle damage!" Downloader charged at Encode, who fired a beam of light from the centre of his shield, but Downloader's barrier protected it. "He's using Encode's power against Playmaker!" Pigeon cried out. "Now the rest of the effect activates! Rewire gains ATK equal to Excode Talker's ATK!" **2500 + 2300 = 4800** (Rewire)

"No! This is bad!" Ai screamed, "Now Rewire will attack Encode Talker! Terabyte Encoding Slash!" Rewire swung its new arms and charged at Encode Talker, who went to protect himself, but the attack too much, slicing his shield in half, along with him as well, and was destroyed in the following explosion, sending Playmaker flying. **2400 - 2000 = 400** (Playmaker)

"Playmaker!" Shoichi yelled to him, "I'm fine!" he said back with a slight flinch, his virtual body flickering with data, it eventually returned to normal. "I activate the Trap, Cyberse Beacon!" Playmaker's face-down flipped up. "Since I took Battle or Effect damage, I can add a Level 4 or lower Cyberse-Type monster from my Deck to my Hand!" he added his choice.

"Now Operator will attack Excode Talker!" Operator fired a single energy ball at Excode Talker, who did nothing to protect itself as the attack hit him. **400 - 300 = 100** (Playmaker) "I end my turn!" Codebuster grinned, "With it ending, Rewire's borrowed effect ends." **4800 = 2500** (Rewire)

Codebuster's Hand x 0

* * *

Back with Hanoi, Revolver brought up another screen, which showed a Data Storm forming, the second Playmaker's LP became less than 1000, "It would appear the monster is coming." Revolver said, making Vire smile, "Oh goody, I want to see the devastation that monster sews!" Vire chuckled.

* * *

 **Turn 5**

"Do something Playmaker! Anything!" Frog cried out, tears pouring out of his tiny tadpole. "But boss, I thought you wanted Playmaker to lose?" Pigeon asked confused, "Oh yeah..." Frog suddenly remembered.

" _It's not over yet, Playmaker can now use his Skill, and if history is to repeat itself, Storm Access will give him the right card to take out Codebuster._ " Ghost Girl thought.

With Codebuster, he sailed closer to Playmaker, "You alright?" he asked, "Why do you care?" he asked, "Just asking, you took a huge blow from that attack, and you seem to be sweating slightly..." he pointed it, making Playmaker feel his face, to discover small droplets of sweats.

"Research had proven that sweat can be caused due to anxiety, are you anxious about losing?" he asked, "Of course he's anxious about losing, he'll lose me!" Ai shouted at him. "No, losing you shouldn't affect him this much, this is something deeper." he remarked.

"This is something that's been haunting him for years, from when he was young." Playmaker flinched slightly.

"This is related to the Lost Incident, right?" he asked, Playmaker didn't respond for a while.

"Yeah..." he finally said, "Even though I've been close to 0 LP before, it never really affected me during my previous Duels..." he began, "But dueling you, is starting to remind me of back then..." he began to retell a memory, long since buried...

* * *

 **10 Years ago**

" _You lose!_ " A computer generated voice said to a young Yusaku through the headset he was wearing, and then immediately shocked him, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed begin launched backward and tumbled. He remained motionless for a few moments. **"It was horrible..."** the grown up Yusaku narrated, **"I was tested, over and over again, not once getting close to winning."** The young Yusaku groaned and slowly sat up. He heard a noise, he looked up to see a small drone, carrying a food tray with hardly any food on it.

 **"Losing during that time, meant I usually went hungry, whoever was behind the incident only ever increased the rations if we didn't have the energy to Duel"** Young Yusaku took off his headset, tears welling in his eyes at the sight of his messily ration.

 **"I didn't know why I was picked for that hellish project, but all I knew was that I just wanted to lay down and give up entirely.** Another round of testing had gone by, during which Young Yusaku had become somewhat weaker, on his knees and kneeling over. **"But someone gave me the strength to get back up."**

"Hey!" a voice echoed, alerting Young Yusaku to this, "Hey you! Can you hear me? If you can, I want you to think of three reasons." the voice said, "Three reasons to live for. Three reasons to go home to. And three reasons to defeat the enemy." they said, "Three reasons?" Young Yusaku said, hoping for the voice to answer, but they didn't...

* * *

"Thinking of those three reasons gave me the strength to get though that hard time until we were saved." Playmaker said, the memory over with. "Ever since that day, I've hoped to find that person that saved me, and thank them." he finished, no longer sweating.

"So until that time comes, I will not lose!" he yelled determined. He then took off forward.

"Now that our LP is below 1000, we can use it!" Ai said. "Yeah..." Playmaker said, but for some reason, he felt that something was off with this Duel... "My turn! I draw!" Playmaker drew his card.

Up ahead, a Data Storm appeared, "Should we go for that monster this time, it may help us." Ai asked, "We may not have a choice, let's go!" Playmaker activated the thrusters, sending the two into the upcoming data twister.

"This is it, whatever card Playmaker gets from his Skill will decide this Duel!" Frog said. Codebuster despite what was about to happen, smiled...

* * *

Inside the Data Storm, Playmaker looked around for any sign of the monster from before, "Hmmm, it's not here, which is good, but also not good at the same time..." Ai muttered, "Doesn't matter, let's do this!" the lines over Playmaker's body began to glow. "I activate my Skill, Storm Access! When my LP is a 1000 or below, I can add one random Link Monster from the Data Storm into my Extra Deck!" he said as he held out his hand.

Data began to gather in that hand, forming a card, soon more data began to gather, "Wow, this must be a strong monster!" Ai said, however Playmaker began to struggle with all the data that was gathering, "It-It's too much!" he groaned out, faltering slightly.

"Don't worry, just a little bit more-" ***Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrr*** Ai began, but the sound of a distant roar could be heard, "Oh no! That roar, is it that?" Ai took physical form and scanned around. "Ah!" he screamed as he spotted a fast approaching shadow from the east. "It's the monster! Hurry!" the Ignis screamed.

"Right!" Playmaker began to focus, hard, and this seemed to take some of the strain off as the data flowed more calmly.

"Seize the Wind! Playmaker!" Ai screamed, some out of encouragement, the other out of fear of the approaching shadow. However after his words, the card was complete. "Storm Access!" Playmaker yelled, brandishing the card, which began to shine, just as the shadow began to break through the wind barrier, Playmaker quickly looked as it appeared, only catching a glimpse before the light from the card blinded them.

* * *

Outside the Data Storm, the light within burst out, and the twister broke down, gently coming a landing on the stream was Playmaker.

"It's over, Codebuster!" he yelled determined, "Wrong, this Duel is far from over!" he retorted, much to their confusion. "I activate the Trap, Threatening Roar!" Codebuster Left face-down flipped up. "What!?" Ai cried out in shock, as did everyone else watching the Duel.

"You can't declare an attack the turn this card is activated!" Codebuster explained grinning.

"Wait! That's the card he set of his first turn, why didn't use it during our last-" Ai began, "It's because we played right into his Trap..." Playmaker finished, now understanding why Codebuster played exactly how he did.

"So you figured it out, huh Playmaker..." Codebuster said, the lines of his body glowing white. "I now activate my Skill, Weirdware's Hack!" he declared.

"Y-Your Skill!?" Ai screamed in panic.

"Oh my god! Codebuster had finally used his Skill!" Frog shouted in shock, "I wonder what it does?" Pigeon, asked, also in shock.

"I can activate one of three effects, depending on the action you made, before Weirdware's Hack was activated." Codebuster explained. "The last action I made was using my Skill..." Playmaker said.

"Correct, so that mean's that during the next turn, by halving my LP, I can activate your Skill for myself!" Codebuster smiled as Playmaker, Ghost Girl, Ai, Frog, Pigeon and Ares watching from above became even more shocked. "That means..." Playmaker began

* * *

"Codebuster now has access to Storm Access." Revolver concluded, "So Codebuster planned for Playmaker to use Storm Access, and used that to his advantage." Valcry said annoyed. "This is gonna be fun!" Vire said grinning.

* * *

"You're too predictable Playmaker!" Codebuster smiled, "Every Duel you've had since your debut ends with you using Storm Access, getting the perfect card to end said Duel and winning! It was too easy to counter it, just don't let you declare an attack, and its fair game again!" he finished.

"So you had this planned since the beginning of the Duel!?" Ai asked, "Yes I did..." Codebuster said thinking back to his first turn...

* * *

 **Turn 2 (past)**

The Codebuster of that turn, looked at his Hand which showed Threatening Roar in his Hand of cards. **"Even if Threatening Roar wasn't in my Hand before, I would've used Installer's effect to set it from my Deck..."** Future Codebuster said as his past self smirked at the sight of the card...

* * *

"Either way, this would've turned out as it did right now..." he finished, making his opponent frown. "Now that I've gotten what I need, carry on with your turn..." he said, "Just know that you can't surprise me." he finished.

"I activate the Trap, Recoded Alive!" Playmaker shouted as one of his face-downs flipped up. "I banish a Link 3 Cyberse-Type Link monster on my Field or Graveyard, and Special Summon a Code Talker from my Extra Deck!" he said, banishing Excode Talker. "I Summon Decode Talker!" The DARK Code Talker appeared in the Left Main Monster Zone, co-linked to Rewire above it.

 **Decode Talker: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

Once more, Codebuster's Duel Disk scanned Decode Talker, "That's all three..." Ai whined defeated. "Decode Talker's effect! It gains 500 ATK for every monster linked to it! Power Integration!" Playmaker shouted as Decode gained more power. Decode Talker's ATK: **2300 + 500 = 2800**

"Since I control no monster in the Extra Monster Zone, I can banish Recoded Alive, and Special Summon the banished Excode Talker!" Excode Talker appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone. "And now I Normal Summon ROM Cloudia!" a small goat like Cyberse appeared, it had pale pink curled horn, its wool was dark grey. It gave a cry as it appeared in the Middle Main Monster Zone.

 **ROM Cloudia: DARK, Level: 4 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/1800 DEF/** 0

"ROM Cloudia's effect!" ROM Cloudia gave another cry, "When Normal Summoned, I can add a Cyberse-Type monster from my Graveyard to my Hand." he added Backup Secretary. "Appear! The Circuit that leads to the Future!" The Link Portal appeared beneath him.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two monsters! I set Link 3 Decode Talker and ROM Cloudia in the Link Markers!" Decode split into three identical monsters, they and ROM Cloudia turned into twisters, Decode hit the Middle Left, Middle Top, and Middle Right, and ROM Cloudia hit the Middle Bottom Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link 4..." the monster's data began to materialise in, "Firewall Dragon!" when the monster was fully formed, it leaped out of the portal twirled in the air, and took a stance and roared. It was Summon the Extra Monster Zone to Playmaker's Right.

 **Firewall Dragon: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2500 LINK/-4, LMs:** ⬅⬆⬇➡

"Firewall Dragon..." Codebuster muttered, remembering the amazing dragon his dragon was based on. "Since Firewall Dragon is linked to Excode Talker, it gains 500 ATK!" Firewall Dragon's ATK: **2500 + 500 = 3000**

"Now for Firewall Dragon's effect! Once while face-up on the Field, I can target monsters on the field or in our Graveyards equal to the number of monsters co-linked to Firewall Dragon, and return them to the Hand!" he said, as Excode's top marker, as well as Firewall Dragon's bottom marker glowed red to confirm they were co-linked.

"Firewall Dragon is co-linked to Excode, meaning I return Rewire on your field to your Hand, which will instead be returned to your Extra Deck! Emergency Escape!" Firewall's frame began to sizzle with energy, which it then launched at Rewire, who did nothing as he was turned into data and returned to Codebuster's Extra Deck. **1900 - 100 = 1800** (Downloader) **2600 - 100 = 2500** (Operator)

"It's a start, but he could easily bring it out." Ai said but he was worried now that Codebuster had access to Storm Access. "Yeah, but we need to ready for what he throw at us from the Data Storm." Playmaker said. "I end my turn!" he said, there was nothing else he could do.

Playmaker's Hand x 1

 **Turn 6**

" _Let's see what this Skill is cut out for!_ " Codebuster thought grinning, "My turn! I draw!" he drew his card, up ahead, another Data Storm began to gather, "I activate Exchange Protocol's effect! I tribute Downloader..." Download burst into data. **2500 = 2300** (Operator) "I Special Summon Weirdware Spawner!"

Spawner appeared in the Right Main Monster Zone, linked to Operator.

 **Weirdware Spawner: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/** 600 **DEF/200**

"See ya!" Codebuster sailed by Playmaker, "He's going for it!" Ai yelled, " _I wonder what Codebuster will get out of the Data Storm?_ " Ghost Girl thought as they all saw Codebuster jump into the Data Storm...

* * *

"So Codebuster has basically won this then?" Valcry said, "Looks like it, Storm Access give the user a random Link Monster which takes into account the player's cards, the opponent, essentially everything is covered in the creation of the card." Revolver said. "Meaning Codebuster is about to get a strong monster." Dr Kogami said.

"Such a shame..." Vire said, "That monster that showed its wonderous power has not revealed itself..." he said, disappointed...

* * *

With Codebuster, he was amazed as he was soaring around in the Storm, "Wow, it's amazing in here!" he yelled out to no one in particular. "Alright! Let's get me a new monster! I activate the remaining effect of Weirdware's Hack, by paying half my LP..." **1800 = 900** (Codebuster) "I can now use Storm Access for myself!" he then held out his hand, which caused data to gather.

After a while, Codebuster's arm began to hurt " _Okay this is hurting real bad, I hope this doesn't take too long-_ " ***Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrr*** A distant roar was heard, cutting through his thought, "Huh?" he let his arm down, losing the gathered data.

"Damn it!" he swore out, "What was that?" he said, looking around. ***Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrr*** He heard it again, looking around more frantically.

A moment later, he spotted something, a shadow within the storm, and it was heading right for him, "What the hell is that-" he yelled as the shadow broke through the storm-

* * *

Outside the Data Storm, Playmaker and Ai waited, "He's been in there for a while, you don't think he messed up, do you?" Ai asked, "Possibly, judging by the increased data flow of the Storm, I think that he might have-" Playmaker began to stop.

"Go on..." Ai said, "Look!" Playmaker pointed to the Storm, Ai did and became shock as the colour of the Storm from the bottom began to darken, "That's never happened before..." Ai said worried, red lightning began to spark within the storm now.

"Something is happening!?" Playmaker said, he also noticed the wind was picking up, getting sucked into the darkening storm. " _Careful Yusaku!_ " Shoichi cried out as chucks of data from the surrounding building were being torn off.

"Wah! What's happening!?" Frog flailing about in the wind, Pigeon trying his hardest not to get hit by debris. Ghost Girl as well as Ares were starting to lose control of their D-Boards. "We're going to die!" Pigeon cried out.

" _What's happening in there!_ " Ares thought bracing himself.

 ***Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrr*** A loud roar was heard echoing all around, coming from the Storm itself. "Oh no! That roar, its back! Ai yelled, the storm became more violent and strong and glowing brighter and brighter until-

 ***BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!*** The storm suddenly exploded in a purple of dark light, the smoky trails of data began to erupt out of it in all directions like a volcano.

One of the smoky trails landed on the stream, when the smoke cleared, it revealed Codebuster, a little worse for wear, on his knees, electricity trailing up and down his body, and his Duel Disk's screen glowing red. "Shit that hurts like hell!" he swore out.

"He's alive!" Ai said as Codebuster stood up, but nearly falling over once or twice. "That's sure was something, huh boss?" Pigeon asked Frog, but he didn't respond, "Boss? Boss? Hey boss, are you-" Pigeon looked up, only to see Frog covered with shrapnel from the storm. "Oww..." Frog groaned unconscious. "Ah! This is bad, we've got to get out of here!" Pigeon cried out, "No!" Frog yelled shaking the debris off him. "We must stay to cover this Duel!" he yelled.

"I've got my new card, Playmaker!" Codebuster said, looking over said card in his hand, before it was put into his Extra Deck, "Now let's see it come to life!" he yelled, throwing his hand out. "Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide your Fate!" the Link Portal appeared.

"I set Spawner in the Link Markers!" Spawner turned into energy, and hit the Middle Bottom marker, turning it red. "Link Summon! Link 1, Weirdware Plug-Charge!" Plug Charge appeared in the Extra Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Plug-Charge: LIGHT [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/400 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬇

"Spawner's effect! When used to Link Summon a Weirdware Link Monster, I can Special Summon up to 2 Weirdware Tokens!" two Weirdware Tokens appeared in the Left and Right Main Monster Zones.

 **Weirdware Token: EARTH, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Token] ATK/0 DEF/** 0 **X2**

"Again!" The Link Portal appeared again "The Summoning Condition is a Level 1 Weirdware monster! I set Token No. 1 in the Link Markers!" the first Token, the one in the Left Monster Zone, turned into energy, and hit the Middle Right marker, turning it red. "Link Summon! Weirdware Bomb Sweeper!" Bomb Sweeper appeared where the first Token was, Co-Linked with Operator.

 **Weirdware Bomb Sweeper: WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/200 LINK/-1, LMs:** ➡

"Once more!" Another portal appeared, "The Summoning Conditions for this one is one Level 4 or lower Weirdware monster! I set the second Token in the Link Markers!" The second token, the one in the Right Monster Zone turned into energy, and just as before hit a marker on the portal, this time it was the Middle Left, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Weirdware Ad-Burner!" Ad-Burner appeared, swivelling it turret around, it was Co-Linked to Operator from the Right Main Monster Zone.

 **Weirdware Ad-Burner: FIRE [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/600 LINK/-1, LMs:** ⬅

"Three Link 1 monsters..." Playmaker muttered to himself, "What kind of monster requires that many!?" Ai asked. "Plug-Charge's effect! It gains ATK equal to the monster linked to it!" Codebuster said, Plug-Charge's ATK: **400 + 600 = 1000**

Codebuster looked back at them, "Time for the moment of truth! Appear! The Shining Circuit that will decide my Fate!" a fourth portal appeared, however, for a brief second, it flashed to black, alerting Playmaker and Ai to this. "What was that just now?" Ai asked.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning Conditions are at least two Link Monsters! I set the Link 1 Plug-Charge, Link 1 Bomb Sweeper and Link 1 Ad-Burner in the Link Markers!" the three monsters turned into energy of their attributes, Plug-Charge hit the Middle Top, Bomb Sweeper hit the Bottom Left, and Ad-Burner hit the Bottom Right, instead of the markers turning red, they turned purple, and the portal flashed again, and a pulse was released, causing the surrounding area to lag a bit. "What's going on?" Pigeon cried out.

"Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3!..." the monster's digital frame faded in, and was then filled in. "Malirus Critical Dragon!"

Appearing from the portal was a cybernetic dragon, its cyber armour was cyan blue, with black and silver across parts of its body. It was somewhat slim, at the centre of its chest was a square indent core, it contained eight neon lines, the formation was like that of the Link Portal Markers, the bottom left, right and Middle top were glowing more than the other five. Its narrow shoulders were spiked with small energy wings which were blood red. Its wings were made up of three parts for each wing, they consisted of hallow hexagon rings, a corner was missing, each one had an energy blade acting as a wing for that part. It arms at the elbow were triangular, two sides of them were black and red circuitry which pulsed every second. Its claws were flat and in a triangle formation, its hip was a tri-pod, as it had three legs, two at the front and these two had a fold-up wing trimmed with energy. It back third leg was made up of multiple piece that could extend, they currently were, making the leg act like a tail. Its neck was short and slim, its head narrow, two glowing red slit eyes, fitted between its eyes was a upside down triangle red gem, it had no actual mouth, just a silver metal beak.

Its eyes quickly flash, it raised its head and gave a powerful screech/roar...

* * *

Across Den City, multiple systems started to act up, the people still awake were confused by this phenomenon, and why it was happening.

"Ah!" Kasumi cried out, yanking her headphones out of her ears, she had been calmly listening to one of her favourite songs, when out of nowhere, all she could hear was static, the volume was so high, as she liked to fully hear the music, this was a mistake as the static caused her ears to hurt. "What the heck was that!?" she screamed, her hearing temporally gone.

When the buzzing had gone, she grabbed her phone, the device she had been using, and carefully placed her ear next to one of the earpieces, all she could hear was the music she was playing before. "Huh? That was weird, what was that about?" she said, after a while of thinking about it, she shrugged, and then put the earpieces back in, layed down on her bed and listened to the rest of the song...

* * *

"Korrupted Soul Graz'zt! Attack his Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale" NoPlayer yelled out, grinning ear to ear behind his mask as his monster attacked the whale like Link Monster, destroying it. Since Graz'zt had 3200 ATK, due to being Co-Linked to Machina Red Beret.

This took away 600 LP from their opponent, bring them down to 400. "I-I activate Amblowhale's effect!" they stuttered out, panicking at the shear ferocity that NoPlayer was using against them. "When it's destroyed, I can target one Link 3 or lower Link Monster in my Graveyard and-" "That's not going to work!" NoPlayer grinned out, cutting them off.

"Graz'zt's effect! When you activate a monster's effect, I can banish a monster from my Hand or Graveyard..." he sent Machina Synchron from his Hand to his banished zone, "This then lets me negate your monster's effect, banish that monster, and then inflict 400 damage to you!" Graz'zt then discharge a huge amount of dark lighting at the victim, who cried out in pain as they fell unconscious. Their LP becoming 0.

"Thanks for the win! I'll be taking your prized Amblowhale..." NoPlayer fired a beam from his Duel Disk, it hit the victim's Duel Disk, and removed the mentioned card.

NoPlayer then smiled to himself, ever since his nightmare involving Codebuster was over, he had been on a roll, nothing was stopping him, he instantly took out anyone foolish enough to think they could stand before him. And once he was sure he was ready, even Codebuster, and maybe even Playmaker would fall before- "Huh!?" NoPlayer looked around, and noticed that the alleyway, which he was Dueling in just a moment ago was lagging, once it stopped, he was confused.

"Odd? That's never happened before, wonder what happened?" he asked himself, "Oh well, doesn't matter to me! See ya loser!" he waved to his unconscious victim, and logged off...

* * *

Back in the real world, in Matoyia's room, his computer had started itself up, and was once again creating new Link Monster, based on the data of the Code Talkers that the owner of the computer had just gotten. As it was just about to finish the final touches to the first of three, and error occurred, followed by multiple system crashes, this caused the computer to instantly reboot itself, to avoid damage to the system.

A few moments later, it turned itself back on, after checking to see what had happened, which the computer couldn't find, the mouse cursor went back to creating the cards, it went to select the Link Monster format, but nothing happened, it kept doing it, but still nothing...

...

...

The cursor then moved over to the Code Talker's data, and back to the Format layout, it kept moving between the two, as though trying to think of what to do, just then the cursor turned into a lightbulb, if it couldn't make Link Monster... it would just make something else... With that in mind, the cursor being to remake the cards entirely...

* * *

Playmaker and Ai were shocked at the sight of the dragon, "Ah! It's scary! That's the monster he got from the Data Storm, it's going to-" Ai stopped and looked at the dragon's stats as it appeared in the Extra Monster Zone to Codebuster's Right. Linked to it was Operator.

 **Malirus Critical Dragon: DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1500 LINK/-3, LMs:** ↙⬆↘

"1500 ATK? Oh that's not so bad, why was I so scared for?" Ai sighed, relieved, "That sure was a scare, huh Playmaker?" it asked, but didn't get a response, "Playmaker? Hey, did you not hear me?" Ai looked up to see Playmaker was nervous, "Hey? What's wrong Playmaker, why are you nervous about that monster, its ATK is lower that our-" "That monster..." Playmaker began, thinking back to what he saw in the Data Storm, before being ejected from it, the monster from then, and the one before them.

"It's the same one that I saw in the Data Storm!" he concluded, shocking Ai with this, "Are you kidding!? That's the monster that's been attacking us!?" Ai looked back at the new monster, "That can't be! That monster was powerful, this one only has-"

"Critical Dragon's effect" Codebuster cut Ai off, Critical Dragon was enveloped by a red aura. "This monster gains 300 ATK times the total amount of Link Markers on the Field!" he explained, shocking them, Ghost Girl, Frog, Pigeon, and even Ares. "The total amount of Link Markers on the Field!?" Pigeon cried out. Currently the Link Monsters on the Field were three Link 3 Monsters, Critical Dragon, Operator, Excode Talker, and a Link 4, Firewall Dragon, making the total 13

"The total amount of Markers is 13! T-Then t-that means..." Ai began to shake, Critical Dragon's ATK rising. "That means Critical Dragon gains 3900 ATK!" Codebuster yelled out, Critical Dragon screeched, surging with tremendous power. Critical Dragon's ATK: **1500 + 3900 = 5400**

"5400 ATK!" Ai panicked, "That's not all! As your Link Monsters are also affected!" Codebuster said, "They lose 100 ATK for every Link Marker they possess!" Firewall Dragon and Excode Talker felt some of their strength leave them. **3000 - 400 = 2600** (Firewall Dragon) Excode Talker's ATK: **2300 - 300 = 2000**

"This monster..." Playmaker began, "This monster is the bane to all Link Monsters!" he concluded, just by that single effect. "It's over Playmaker!" Codebuster shouted. "I set a card!" Codebuster set his last card.

"Battle! Malirus Critical Dragon! Attack Excode Talker!" Critical Dragon's wings all clamped together, forming a honeycomb formation, the energy wings began to discharge energy, which was then transferred into the dragon's body and up to its head, causing a small sphere of red energy to gather, slowly getting bigger every second.

"This is the end! _Terrorbyte Burst of Devastation!_ " The dragon screeched, and then fired, unleashing a huge desctruction beam at Excode Talker, in its wake the windows of the surrounding buildings shattered. "Playmaker! Do something!" Ai screamed, Playmaker looked to the beam, and faced it head on, before being shrouded in the light of the attack...

To be Continued...

* * *

 **Skills**

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Weirdware's Hack**

Activate 1, and only 1 of the following effects, depending on the action your opponent makes before activating this Skill:

Declares a direct attack: Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your GY in Attack Position, your opponent's monster must attack it, it cannot be destroyed by battle for the rest of the turn, but it is banished at the end of the turn.

Targets a Spell or Trap you control (face-down or up) Return that targeted card to your Hand, then activate a different Spell or Trap from your Deck.

Activates their Skill: During the next turn it was activated; you can activate that same Skill by paying half your Life Points. ("Weirdware" cards become the target of the effect, if required)

 **It took me a while to think of a good Skill for Codebuster, I had this Duel planned out for a while, but I needed to way for him to use Storm Access... without truly having that Skill. At first I was going to just have the single effect that copied the Skill and call it "Identity Thief" but then it would've been really restrictive to just use the Skill, if the opponent's Skill met his needs... This way, he can use it more often, where he needs it, but for different scenarios...**

 **OC cards**

 **(Codebuster)**

 **Weirdware Reviver**

 **DARK, Level: 1 [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/400 DEF/300**

When this card is used to Link Summon a "Weirdware" Link Monster: Banish this card, then Special Summon 1 other "Weirdware" in your GY. If this card was linked to a Link Monster when used as Link Material: Special Summon up to 2 "Weirdware" monsters from your GY instead.

 **Weirdware Rebound**

 **Normal Trap**

Activate this card when a "Weirdware" monster you control is targeted for an attack or card effect. Apply the following effect, depending on what that monster was targeted for: Battle: If that monster is destroyed in that battle; destroy the monster that destroyed it. Card effect: Your opponent must target 1 of their own monsters for the effect, regardless of what the card's effect

 **Weirdware Accumulator**

 **WATER [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1700 LINK/-2, LMs: B, R**

2 "Weirdware" monsters, including 1 Link Monster

When this card is Special Summoned: Special Summon 1 "Weirdware" monster from your GY, but negate its effects for the rest of the turn. Once per turn, increase the ATK of all monsters this card points to by 600, then for every monster affected by this effect: Gain 300 Life Points. When this card declares an attack against a monster: It gains ATK equal to the total amount that monsters this card points to gained with this card's above effect, but then all monster's ATK affected by this card's effect return to their original ATK.

 **Weirdware Operator**

 **WIND [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/2300 LINK/-3, LMs: L, B, R**

2+ "Weirdware" monsters

You can only activate each of the following effects, once per turn: 1) After this card has attacked a monster, target 1 monster this card points to, half its ATK until the end of the battle phase, and if you do: That monster can attack your opponent directly this turn. 2) When a monster this card points to is the target of an attack: This card becomes the target instead, and if this card is destroyed; Special Summon it at the end of the turn. 3) Once per turn, target cards your opponent controls, up to the number of monsters this card points to: return them to your opponent's Hand.

 **Malirus Critical Dragon**

 **DARK [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK/1500 LINK/-3, LMs: BL, T, BR**

2+ Link Monsters

This card gains 300 ATK x the total Link Rating of Link Monsters on the Field, while your opponent's Link Monsters lose 100 ATK x their own Link Rating. When a monster this card points to is destroyed: Destroy 1 card your opponent control, if that monster was a Link Monster; destroy cards up to the Link Rating of that Link Monster. If your opponent activates the effect of a Link Monster: (Quick Effect) Banish 1 Link Monster from your GY: Negate the activate of that monster's effect, and if you do; inflict 300 damage to your opponent x the combined Link Rating of those negated and banished Link Monsters.

 **(Playmaker)**

 **Modified version of Flick Clown**

If this card is the only card in your Hand: Special Summon it. If you have no cards in your hand: You can pay 500 LP; draw 1 card. You can only activate this effect of "Flick Clown" once per turn.

 **Target Recalibration**

 **Quick-Play Spell**

During your opponent's Battle Phase, when your opponent declares an attack with their monster against your monster: Target a different monster you control, that monster becomes the target of the attack, and cannot be destroyed in that battle. If you take battle damage during the turn this card is activated: Draw 1 card.


End file.
